By Alex Diaz | Spear Reporter
San Jose State’s women’s soccer (0-11-4, 0-5-2 MW) suffered a 2-1 loss versus San Diego State (5-7-3, 3-2-2 MW), struggling to fend off its opponents defensively.
The Aztecs were relentless, making 25-shot attempts, while the Spartans struggled to find opportunities and only took nine shots throughout the match.
“The season we’ve had hasn’t been going our way,” senior forward Kennedy Mayo said. ”But coming here today playing San Diego, we knew we had to compete.”
Aztecs were on the attack in the first half, attempting nine shots within the first 20 minutes.
Despite the offensive pressure, senior goalkeeper Shayla Sugai collected six saves while the defensive line held off the remaining three shots.
In the 28th minute, SDSU capitalized on a corner kick as junior defender Grace Goins unleashed a shot assisted by senior defender Trinity Coker, securing the match’s first goal.
The half finished at 1-0.
The Aztecs were awarded a penalty kick going into the 85th minute. Senior midfielder Denise Castro shot to the right side, netting their second goal against the Spartans, 2-0.
With forty seconds left, Spartan senior defender and San Diego native Kayla Fortenberry launched a shot that soared down the center, finding the gap between Aztec defenders.
Fortenberry’s goal was her first since her freshman year.
“It felt awesome,” Fortenberry said. “I haven’t scored since my freshman year, and being able to do that for our team and raise the spirits going into our next game is exciting.”
SJSU looks to add its first win of the season with a Mountain West matchup against New Mexico. Kickoff is scheduled for noon on Sunday at UNM Soccer Complex.
