By Jessica Jimenez — Staff Writer
Ariana Romero safeguarded San Jose State women’s soccer in a 2-0 road win over the University of New Mexico Friday evening.
It was the goalkeeper’s seven saves against the Lobos (9-7, 5-4 MW) that kept the Spartans (6-7-4, 4-3-2 MW) ahead and the seventh time this season she’s pitched a perfect game.
It was the fourth Mountain West win of the season for SJSU as the standings begin to freeze for the tournament in early November.
Senior forward Jennifer Orozco found the back of the net in the 12th minute for her first goal of the year and third of her career.
The Spartans kept possession of the ball most of the first half, so Romero’s job was relatively easy. But the times the ball did come her way, she shut it down with aggression.
SJSU led with three shots on goal compared to UNM’s two ending the first half, 1-0.
In the 56th minute, it was a successful header by senior defender Kristen Amarikwa, assisted by junior defender Karlee Pottorff that doubled the Spartan lead.
From there, it was all Romero, which included a saved penalty kick in the 72nd minute.
The Spartans are currently on the outside looking in, seeded seventh in the conference standings, but beating the No. 6 Lobos certainly shrunk the gap.
Two games remain for SJSU. San Diego State (7-7-1, 6-2 MW) on the road and Fresno State (9-4-1, 5-2-1 MW) at home rank second and fourth in the conference, respectively.
The Spartans and Aztecs kickoff in San Diego Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
Follow Jessica on Twitter @jessicajim06