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| Friday, October 27 No. 1 Spartans look to rule road By Ben Aguirre Jr. Spartan Daily |
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Note: The following stories are the most recent wire transmissions from SportsTicker and other ESPN.com sources. Versions of some of these stories appear elsewhere on the service. SAN JOSE, Calif. (U-WIRE) -- The dream season continues for the San Jose State men's soccer team as it looks to wrap up the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Mountain Division crown this week. The Spartans, who remain undefeated this season (14-0-1), will wrap up their conference schedule on the road, playing their final division games against the Air Force Academy and the University of Denver. And for the second week in a row, San Jose State is the No. 1 team in the nation, according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The Spartans are also the only remaining undefeated team in the NSCAA top 25 poll. The Spartans will have to play the remainder of their season on the road after defeating Fresno State, 2-0, last Sunday in their last home game. Coach Gary St. Clair said that playing on the road will have positive and negative effects. "We'd like to play at home," St. Clair said. "But the conditions at Spartan Stadium are hurting us." St. Clair was referring to the concrete-like grass on the field and added that the school plans on having it fixed in November. Remaining undefeated will be important because they have nothing to show for it yet, St. Clair said. SJSU (6-0 in conference) has not clinched the MPSF title, as Denver is right behind them in the standings. "They are all alone in second place," St. Clair said. "They are the only team that can touch us." The Pioneers are 4-1 in MPSF Mountain Division play and suffered its only conference defeat at the hands of the Spartans on Oct. 15. Denver will be seeking revenge when it faces SJSU in Denver, Colo. at 3 p.m. on Friday. "This is an absolutely huge game for them," St. Clair said. "They have to beat us on Friday." The Spartans will also be playing the Air Force Academy on Sunday in Colorado Springs, Colo. They soundly defeated the Falcons 3-0 on Oct. 1. St. Clair indicated that Air Force's Cadet Soccer Stadium isn't an ideal location to have a game. "Air Force is the worst place to play on the West Coast," St. Clair said. "They have the worst fans, and it's in the middle of no where." St. Clair also said that the last time SJSU played at Air Force a F-15 jet plane flew over the stadium during the game, distracting the SJSU players. Despite being undefeated, St. Clair said he would like to see more consistency in the team's play, because teams are trying to do anything to defeat SJSU. |
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