Oct. 18, 2009

Final Stats

(San Francisco) - USF could not capitalize on its scoring opportunities, while Gonzaga took full advantage, rolling to a 2-0 West Coast Conference victory Sunday afternoon at Negoesco Stadium. The Dons (5-7-1, 2-4-0 WCC) defeated No. 22 Portland Friday night, but could not pull off the Pacific Northwest sweep as the Bulldogs (5-5-2, 2-3-0 WCC) won in San Francisco for the third consecutive time.

USF worked hard to press the attack early but were turned away by the Gonzaga defense. The Bulldogs scored on their second attempt of the match on a quality goal by Ben Funkhouser in the 21st minute. Funkhouser rocketed a feed from Tye Perdido on the right flank into the upper V from 16 yards for his fourth strike of the year.

San Francisco held a 15-10 shot advantage, but simply could not find the back of the net against Scott Barnum, who made six saves in the contest. Senior All-American Conor Chinn and senior midfielder Jonathan Levi each recorded three shots for the Dons.

Playing for the third consecutive Sunday after a Friday match against an opponent idle for a full week, the Dons played the entire second half a man down after Omar Elmasri was sent off on a red card with 10 seconds remaining in the opening period. The Dons once again pressed hard to start the second period and held a 8-6 shot advantage after the intermission, but simply ran out of gas down the stretch.

"Obviously it's very disappointing to lose 2-0 after a very good game on Friday," USF head coach Erik Visser said. "I think having a red card in the last 10 seconds of the first half and having to make changes to play a man down for the second really hurt us. I think our team tried really hard, but this is the third consecutive Sunday that we're playing against an opponent that hasn't played for a week and is very well-rested. It's becoming a tough disadvantage for the team. I compliment our team. I think they played really hard, but just ran out of gas."

Gonzaga added an insurance goal in the 78th minute off a failed clearance. Tye Perdido punched it in at point blank range for his fifth tally of the season.

Senior goalkeeper Franco Carotenuto (1-2-1) suffered the loss for the Dons and made four saves. Barnum secured his third shutout for the Zags.