San Diego State controlled the ball and the scoreboard Saturday night, closing out its preseason slate with a statement win over USD ahead of a landmark first season in the Pac-12.

SAN DIEGO — San Diego State women’s soccer wrapped up its exhibition schedule in style Saturday night, beating crosstown rival USD 3-1 at SDSU Sports Deck to close out preseason play before the program’s first-ever regular season as a member of the Pac-12 Conference.

The Aztecs controlled the run of play from start to finish, dominating possession and generating a heavy volume of shots against a Torero side that had opened its own preseason with a narrow 1-0 win over UC San Diego just three days earlier. For a team about to step into a new conference, the performance offered an encouraging final look before the games start to count.

How the Preseason Set Up the Matchup

The win closed a two-game exhibition slate for SDSU that began August 5 with a home match against USC. Head coach Mike Friesen’s group used the two tune-ups — first a Power Four opponent, then a physical crosstown rival — to get a real gauge on where the roster stands heading into the season.

USD, for its part, came into the match off that 1-0 exhibition win over UC San Diego on August 5, where the Toreros needed until the 82nd minute to break through. Saturday’s result flipped the script, with San Diego State’s attack finding much more room to work.

A Rivalry with a Long, Streaky History

Saturday’s game was non-counting, but it landed squarely inside one of San Diego college soccer’s longest-running rivalries. Per USD’s official series records, the counted, regular-season history between the two programs dates back to 2004 and has been remarkably even — USD sits at 6-7-1 in the all-time series, with San Diego State holding a slim edge.

A few numbers that stand out from that history:

• Total goals scored across the series: 20, averaging just 1.43 per match — a reminder that this has typically been a tighter, defensive-minded rivalry than Saturday’s game suggests.
• Last meeting: September 14, 2023, a 4-0 SDSU win at Snapdragon Stadium.
• Largest margin of victory: USD’s 5-2 win on September 7, 2018.
• Smallest margin: A 1-0 USD win on September 13, 2019, on a late goal.
• Longest win streak in the series: Two games, held by USD (2018-19).
• Last 10 matchups: USD leads 4-5-1 over that stretch.

The series has swung back and forth almost every year it’s been played, with neither program ever pulling far ahead — which makes Saturday’s decisive scoreline notable, even in an exhibition that won’t officially add to that ledger.

Bigger Picture: A New Era on The Mesa

This result comes at a pivotal moment for San Diego State athletics. The Aztecs are entering their first season as full members of the reformed Pac-12 Conference, and the women’s soccer program will open Pac-12 play at home against Boise State on October 1 — the two sides having already met twice a year ago, including a penalty-kick thriller in the Mountain West semifinals.

Before conference play begins, SDSU has a loaded non-conference slate that will test the group further: a road trip to open the regular season at UC San Diego on August 12, followed by home matches against Portland State, Washington and Pacific to close out the month, then road tests at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech in early September. The Aztecs also return to Malibu-area form after last season’s 3-2 win over Pepperdine, with a rematch on the Sports Deck slated for September 17.

For a program pushing into a new conference with tougher week-to-week competition, a possession-heavy, shot-heavy win over a rival — even a non-counting one — is exactly the kind of building block Friesen’s group wanted heading into the regular season.

Up Next

San Diego State opens the regular season Wednesday, August 12, on the road against UC San Diego at Triton Soccer Stadium in La Jolla — itself another intra-city measuring stick, with the Tritons currently unbeaten against the Aztecs in their last two meetings.

Pacific Sports Media will have full coverage as San Diego State opens its historic first Pac-12 season.