Team of the Week: Aztecs aim to leave Mountain West on top in women’s soccer

Mike Friesen has one goal for San Diego State’s women’s soccer team this season: go out a winner.

In his first 18 seasons as the Aztecs’ coach, Friesen has had much success in the Mountain West Conference. Two weeks ago, he celebrated his 200th win as Aztecs head coach and ran his record for Mountain West wins to 134. He has won six Mountain West regular-season titles and five conference tournaments.

But this is the Aztecs’ last season in the Mountain West. Starting in 2026, the Aztecs will play in the Pac-12.

“We’d love to go out on top,” Friesen said. “And I think this team is set on that. I’m very excited about this team as well as individual players.”

The Aztecs (5-2-4, 1-0-2) are on a run. They have gone undefeated in eight straight matches after opening the season with losses to No. 25 Texas Tech and at No. 2 Stanford.

They have a blend of a solid offense and a strong and improving defense backed by one local athlete you’ve probably never heard of.

Freshman goalkeeper Kailey Carlen has five shutouts with a 1.09 goals-against average and 38 saves while playing every minute of the Aztecs’ first 11 games. And while Carlen was raised in the Eastlake area of Chula Vista, she never played high school soccer – opting to play in club programs that led her to becoming a member of the Puerto Rican National Team and train with Gotham FC of the National Women’s Soccer League.

“I never found high school soccer to be beneficial to my growth as a player,” said Carlen, who was homeschooled and, as a player, led the Albion Club program to two national titles in 2023 and started for Puerto Rico in Under-18 international matches against the United States and Canada. “I get jokes sometimes about not being an All-CIF player. I kind of laugh about that.”

So why SDSU?

“San Diego State always felt like home to me,” said Carlen, who is studying toward three majors and a professional soccer career. “I’m very close to my parents. And I love this team, this program. It’s a very unique group.”

Friesen and his assistants have kept an eye on Carlen since she was in the eighth grade.

“On the field, her presence is professional and intense,” he said. “She is better known internationally than she is in the local sports community.”

Carlen is one of 11 freshmen or redshirt freshmen on the Aztecs’ 25-player roster. There are also nine sophomores, four juniors and one senior. The Aztecs graduated 11 players from last year’s 9-8-4 team, including five who signed professional contracts.

“This is definitely a young team,” said Friesen. “Even our juniors and one senior entered the season with limited experience. But we’ve had players step forward. It’s a fun team to coach. They show up every day. And they’re not afraid of anybody. We’re brave and defend well. We played 70 strong minutes against Stanford. We came back from two down against Pepperdine.”

Carlen is one of four regulars from San Diego on the Aztecs’ roster. Freshman forward Briahna Gieger (Patrick Henry High School) has played every game as a substitute. Sophomore forward Mia Lane (Eastlake High School) has played in all 11 games, starting five of them; she scored two goals and logged an assist.

Redshirt freshman forward Alexis Leath (West Hills High School) has played in nine games (seven starts) with two goals.

Thirteen Aztecs have appeared in every game this season, with eight starting every game.

“We want to have everyone connected,” said the coach. “Everyone is valued, regardless of playing time. Our depth goes from the back to the front. After 2024, we wanted to get much better on defense.”

Other Aztecs who have started every game are sophomore forward and leading scorer (five goals) Victoria Miller; midfielders Katie Senn (junior; two goals, one assist) and sophomores Charlie Gerson and Alexyz Nakamoto, and defenders Grace Goins (senior), Emma Fuller (sophomore) and Mia Hambro Svendsen (freshman from Norway).

“Goins is our most experienced defender,” said Friesen. “She is our anchor. Gerson took off in the spring. Senn has a little more maturity in the midfield. And Fuller has experience.”

SDSU has also landed a pair of transfers. Miller and redshirt freshman midfielder Rory Schank are the first to transfer to San Diego State since the advent of the transfer portal. Miller transferred from Ohio State, while Schank previously played at Auburn.

“What interested me was how the Aztec program is rooted in the people,” said Miller, a pre-med major. “The coaches put emphasis on recruiting based on character. It works well. We’re young and very talented. We’re already having a ton of success. We’re doing well, but we need to be better in the final 30 minutes. We’re leading the conference and I feel confident in the program’s trajectory.

“We’re heading in a very positive direction. I think we’re looking at the NCAA Tournament.”

Every week during the school year, U-T contributor Bill Center highlights one San Diego college team that’s making strides on and off the field. To nominate a team, email wcenter27@gmail.com.