Snapdragon Stadium – San Diego, California 

The San Diego State Aztecs Men’s Soccer team hosted the University of San Diego Toreros for the annual San Diego Classic between the two rival schools.

The Aztecs aimed to break the program attendance record, which was set last year with a total of 2,769. Tonight, the Aztecs saw a record 3,632 fans in attendance to watch The Classic.

“What a great night for soccer in San Diego,” head coach Ryan Hopkins said. “I am proud of the city for showing up and I think we have a great culture in the city and I think it will continue to grow. Hats off to both teams.”

San Diego State’s record now sits at (6-2-4, 0-2-2 Pac-12). USD’s record is now (8-3-2, 2-0-0 WCC).

First Half

The first 45 minutes did not provide much action whatsoever. USD was the more aggressive squad early on, as they attempted six shots to one. USD claimed possession 51% to 49% and had just the one shot on target … which should have been a goal if we are being honest. An unbalanced attempted forced the miss. However, Aztecs’ goalkeeper Logan Erb was offline and had no chance to potentially save it. The attempt was short, and the only shot on goal in the half went the way side.

Samy Kannan had two shots, with the one on target for the Toreros in the first half.

Second Half

The second half started the way the Aztecs had hoped it would. With a much more aggressive manner, SDSU scored the first goal of the match in the 53rd minute from defender Tristan Viviani.

Aztecs GOOOOOOAL! Tristan Viviani, who is making his first start of the year, finishes the beautiful pass from Seth Clark to put SDSU on top 1-0 in the 53rd minute.#GottaBeTheStache pic.twitter.com/9rPydFLGQ3

— San Diego State Men’s Soccer (@AztecMSoccer) October 15, 2023

The sophomore scored his first of the season and his second overall in an Aztecs uniform. The goal came at a great time as he started his first match of the season.

Coach Hopkins talks about the player Viviani is and what he has had to overcome.

“Tristan is a big time player,” Hopkins said. “He came into camp with a knee injury that required surgery and it’s taken a while. Tristan and I have a unique relationship and we are very close. I challenge him a lot and he has responded to this adversity very well.”

The lead did not last very long for the Aztecs. After trying to score their second, a mishap happened, and the Toreros were able to equalize. Midfielder Mason Tunbridge connected with a sweet goal to put USD right back into the match.

Simply Sensational 😻#GoToreros pic.twitter.com/p1YdKIq2p1

— San Diego Men’s Soccer (@USDmsoccer) October 15, 2023

SDSU did everything they could to try and regain the lead to finish with a victory.

However, no winner would be decided in this one. SDSU did their best to win their first match in five tries, but it didn’t happen.

The next match for the Aztecs is this upcoming Friday, Oct 20, at UCLA for a Pac-12 battle. For USD, their next match is Saturday, Oct 21, at the University of Portland for a WCC matchup.

Match News & Notes:

• Under head coach Ryan Hopkins (4th season), the Aztecs are 15-1-1 in non-conference home matches.
• The Aztecs are undefeated (10-0-3) in their last 13 non-conference matches.
• Entering this match, SDSU was allowing just 3.1 shots on goal per game.
• The Aztecs are 16-7-3 all-time vs. USD and have won five of the last seven meetings.

Chris Spiering

Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris is also an athlete and is huge fan of San Diego sports. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and contributes regularly about the Padres.