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USF Men Down No. 22 Portland 1-0 in Key West Coast Conference Battle
Oct. 16, 2009
(San Francisco) - Jonathan Levi's third goal of the season in the 82nd minute lifted USF to a 1-0 West Coast Conference shutout against No. 22 Portland Friday night under the lights at Negoesco Stadium. The Dons (5-6-1, 2-3-0 WCC) win their third straight against the Pilots (7-3-2, 2-2-1 WCC) and collect their first top-25 triumph of the season in the process.
After fighting to a standstill in the first 80-plus minutes, junior forward Bryan Burke got loose on a breakaway down the far side and found Levi open at the top of the box. The native of Sweden rifled a shot into the net from 20 yards for his first game-winner of the season. It was the team-leading fifth assist of the season for Burke.
"After taking a 2-0 win against Santa Clara last weekend we thought we were going to start a Dons run through the WCC, but then we had a disappointing result at Saint Mary's" USF head coach Erik Visser said. "We knew that tonight was a really big game. Portland is rated as high as nine in the RPI, so we knew this was a must-win game for us to stay in the race. I'm really proud of the team. They really battled and it was a blue-collar effort tonight."
San Francisco held a 14-9 shot advantage, keyed by three from Levi, one of them off the far post in the second half, while sophomore defender Victor Wennberg and senior All-American forward Conor Chinn added a pair of attempts. Michael Nielsen led the way for the Pilots with four, two on target.
Freshman goalkeeper Brendan Roslund (4-4-0) collected his third shutout of the campaign and made four saves for the Dons. Austin Guerrero suffered the loss for the Pilots and collected a pair of saves.
USF returns to action Sunday, when it hosts Gonzaga in another WCC contest. Match time against the Bulldogs is set for 2:00 PM at Negoesco Stadium.
