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USF Men's Soccer Deadlocks Bay Area Rival Saint Mary's 1-1 in 2009 Home Finale
Nov. 8, 2009
GALLERY
(San Francisco) - USF men's soccer closed the 2009 regular season home schedule with a 1-1 double overtime deadlock against Bay Area and West Coast Conference rival Saint Mary's Sunday night under the lights at Negoesco Stadium. The Dons (6-9-2, 3-6-1 WCC) drew the draw against the second-place Gaels (10-3-4, 6-2-2 WCC) seeking their first WCC Championship.
Sunday was senior night on the Hilltop as the eight member class of 2009 was recognized in a special pregame ceremony. Seven of the nine seniors started and all played significant minutes for the Dons.
Senior All-American Conor Chinn scored his ninth goal of the season in highlight reel fashion in the 33rd minute off a spectacular feed from junior forward Rafai Eddy. It was the fourth goal in three matches for the reigning WCC Player of the Year and his 36th career scoring strike. It was the second assist of the campaign for Eddy.
USF lead would not last more than a minute as Saint Mary's found the equalizer in ugly fashion, punching the ball across the goal line from point blank range. Malcolm Alugas was credited with the score, his second.
"Although we didn't get a win, I think it was a very successful senior night," USF head coach Erik Visser said. "We were able to pay tribute to all eight of our seniors and have them all participate in their final home game. I thought we had the better of the game and had more opportunities, but by the same token Saint Mary's is putting together a very good year and they're together and able to play and defend well. They're a very dangerous team. Now we have two important road games to go and hopefully we can end on a positive note."
Although San Francisco trailed 7-6 in shots at the intermission, USF dominated play in the second half out-shooting the Gaels by a whopping 10-3 margin, finishing with a 16-10 edge. Senior midfielder Leon Williams cracked a match-high four shots, while freshman forward Oscar Englund added three.
Senior goalkeeper Franco Carotenuto went the distance for the Dons and made five saves in collecting his second tie of the season. Doug Herrick earned the tie for the Gaels and made five saves, all coming in the second half.
USF closes out the regular season on the road with a pair of matches in the Pacific Northwest beginning Friday, November 13 at Gonzaga. Match time against the Bulldogs is set for 1:00 PM at the Gonzaga Soccer Field.
