Sept. 22, 2007

Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO - No. 12 San Francisco (4-3-0) suffered their second straight shutout loss as No. 28 New Mexico (5-3-0) won a 2-0 decision Saturday evening at Negoesco Field. The result came despite the Dons outshooting the Lobos, 10-9.

New Mexico sophomore midfielder Justin Davis scored the Lobos first goal in the 29th minute as he took a pass from junior midfielder Jack Smithson and fired on an open net created by a charging Jeremy Coupe, USF's goalkeeper. The score was 1-0 at halftime with New Mexico leading in shots, 4-3.

In the 51st minute, Lobo junior forward Chris Wright beat out three Dons with fancy footwork then aimed and scored at the top left corner of the USF goal.

Davis led all players with four shots, three on goal. Sophomore forward Conor Chinn, freshman defender Victor Cortez and freshman forward Rafai Eddy had two shots a piece to pace USF.

New Mexico senior goalkeeper Mike Graczyk, a CollegeSoccerNews.com Preseason All-American, had two saves on the night. Coupe made four saves between the pipes for the Dons.

"Tonight we lost to a very good team," USF head coach Erik Visser said. "Our team has shown that it is not yet ready to put back-to-back quality performances together against elite teams. After the first seven games, we have shown the ability to compete with the top teams in the country, however we still need to put in two weeks of quality practice in order to compete effectively in the West Coast Conference."

USF continues its four-match home stand when it opens West Coast Conference play against the Pacific Northwest schools, beginning Friday, October 5 against Portland. Game time against the Pilots is set for 7:00 PM at Negoesco Stadium.

DONS' NOTES - Saturday's match was a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament first round battle which saw New Mexico win, 1-0, with a goal made in the 90th minute... it's the second straight shutout victory for Graczyk over the Dons... the New Mexico goalkeeper has three shutouts on the season, two this week as the Lobos defeated Cal State Northridge, 4-0, on Thursday.