SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A 10th-minute goal held up for the San Diego State Aztecs as they beat the Vikings, 1-0, Sunday at SDSU Sports Deck.
SDSU's Kendall Moore scored the early goal for the Aztecs (2-1-0). She may have caught the Vikings (0-4-0) a bit by surprise as she took a quick shot from outside of the box that snuck through a couple of defenders, bounced off the right post and into the back of the net.
The Viking defense was spotless outside of that one moment.
Finley Crabtree finished with a season-high six saves in the match. She had one from point blank range in the fourth minute, then snagged a cross a couple minutes later that would have found an open SDU player on the back post if she hadn't. Crabtree recorded another quality save, her last of the match, in the 82nd minute when she stopped a ball from 12 yards out from SDSU's Alexis Leath after a free kick found her alone in the box.
The Vikings nearly equalized right away. A PSU corner in the 11th minute got loose in the box and bounced around off multiple players from both teams before harmlessly being cleared away.
Another corner led to a scoring chance for the Vikings in the 38th minute.
Aliayha Saldana found herself on the end of a ball from
Grace Sarabia deep in the box, but SDSU goalkeeper Kailey Carlen blocked her shot and the Vikings couldn't get on the end for a follow.
The Aztecs controlled the ball outside of those chances. They held 60 percent of the possession – 64 percent of which came in their attacking half – while outshooting the Vikings 20-to-7.
The Vikings will have a week off before returning to play at home next Sunday. They'll host Nevada at 12 p.m. at Hillsboro Stadium.
MATCH NOTES:
- The Vikings fell to 0-2-0 all-time against the Aztecs with Sunday's loss. The only other match came in the Vikings' second year as a Division I program in 1997, with the Aztecs winning that one 4-0 on their home field.
- The Vikings are scoreless through their first four matches of the season for the first time since 2006.
