Oct. 31, 2008
(San Francisco) - USF scored three second half goals and cruised to a 3-0 shutout against Portland Friday night in West Coast Conference soccer action at Negoesco Stadium. The Dons (6-7-2, 5-2-1 WCC) complete the season series sweep against the Pilots (6-8-2, 3-5-0 WCC) and outscored Portland 4-0 in a pair of shutout victories. San Francisco created some scoring opportunities early in a sloppy first half, but could not convert. The floodgates broke early in the second half as junior midfielder Jonathan Levy fired a bullet into the upper 90 of the far post in the 47th minute from 20 yards out on the near side. It is first game-winner of the season for Levy, who tallied a scoring srike for the second consecutive contest. "The first half was very sloppy and we lacked intensity, but in the second half we really picked it up and we had a lot more movement and created some good chances," USF head coach Erik Visser said. "The first goal from Levy was really a first class goal. That first goal allowed us to play a lot freer and after that the team really came together and the team scored two more really nice goals. Three to nothing in the West Coast Conference against a team like Portland is a good win for us. We also know it's very important to bounce back quickly to in 48 hours especially knowing that Gonzaga won at Santa Clara." USF made it 2-0 in the 66th minute as junior forward Conor Chinn took a feed from Levy to a breakaway. Chinn beat two Pilot defenders sending a shot past a diving Austin Guerreo for his eighth goal of the season. Chinn added goal No. 9 in the 77th minute taking a loose ball behind the Portland defense and sending it to the near post from 10 yards. It was the third multi-goal match of Chinn's career and the first since recording two in an overtime win at Stanford last September 16.
San Francisco owned a 14-8 shot advantage, including a 10-5 edge in the second half. The Dons recorded eight shots on frame compared to three for the Pilots. Chinn fired a match-high five, four on goal, while freshman defender Victor Wennberg added three, one on frame. Frankie Lopez, Michael Nielsen and Jarad vanSchaik each recorded three shots for Portland. USF senior goalkeeper Jeremy Coupe collected his WCC-leading sixth shutout of the season, fifth shutout victory and improved his overall record to 6-4-2. Coupe made three saves against the Pilots and lowered his GAA to 0.71. Guerrero suffered the loss for Portland and recorded four saves. San Francisco returns to action when it hosts Gonzaga in its 2008 WCC home finale Sunday, November 2. Match time against the Bulldogs is set for 2:00 PM at Negoesco Stadium. Prior to the match, USF will celebrate the legacy of two members of the Dons soccer family that passed away in 2007 - former USF team captain Victo Arbelaez and longtime supporter Rouben Chakalian. GAME NOTES: After managing just eight goals in its first 13 matches, USF has scored six in its last two contests - a 3-1 win against Santa Clara (10/26) and Saint Mary's (10/31)... San Francisco has 14 goals on the year and has allowed just 13 in 15 matches... With five regular season matches remaining, USF has registered six shutouts - the most since notching seven in 2006... With nine goals already this season, Chinn has the most single-season goals by a Don since Aaron Chandler captured WCC Player of the Year honors with 12 in 2004... After a 0-4-0 start, USF is 6-3-2. |
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