No. 22 USF Men's Soccer Welcomes UMKC Tuesday for 2009 Home Opener

Aug. 31, 2009

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UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: USF men's soccer opens the 2009 regular season against a pair of quality opponents, beginning Tuesday, September 1 when the Dons welcome UMKC to the Hilltop for the home opener at Negoesco Stadium. The Kangaroos won the Summit League Tournament last season and posted a 10-7-3 record en route to the 2008 NCAA Tournament. A perennial national power, the Lobos went 11-6-2 a year ago, but saw its string of five straight trips to the postseason snapped. The Kangaroos dropped a 1-0 exhibition decision to No. 8 Cal on Saturday in Berkeley. UNM will open its regular season on the road Tuesday at St. Louis.

QUOTING VISSER: "This will be a very challenging week for us. UMKC is a veteran team that won their conference last year. They lost an exhibition at Cal in the last minute - a game they could have easily won. It will definitely be a challenge for us in the home opener. New Mexico has been a tough nemesis for us. They are a perennial NCAA power and are a very strong team, especially in Albuquerque. They will be a great test for us early in the season."

CHINN NAMED TO PRESEASON HERMANN AWARD WATCH LIST: After turning in one of the most prolific offensive seasons in USF history, senior striker Conor Chinn was named to the 2009 Hermann Trophy Watch List presented annually to the top player in collegiate soccer. The reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Year and 2009 preseason All-American enjoyed a record-setting 2008 campaign, scoring 17 goals, including six game-winners, propelling the Dons to the 2008 WCC Championship. A 2008 All-Far West Region selection, Chinn ranked No. 8 among national Division I leaders in goals per game (0.81) and was No.17 in points (1.67). His 17 tallies were the most by a USF player since Tor Sveen recorded 17 in 1982 and tied for second on the single season list with Sveen, Dag Olavsen (1978) and Alex Nwosu (1977). Chinn enters his senior season with 27 goals, nine game-winners, nine assists and 63 points in 57 career matches.

VISSER CAPTURES THIRD WCC COACH OF THE YEAR HONOR: After guiding a team picked to finish fourth in the West Coast Conference to the championship, USF head coach Erik Visser was voted 2008 WCC Coach of the Year by his peers for the third time in five seasons. The 2004 NSCAA Far West Coach of the Year, Visser guided the Dons into their fourth NCAA Tournament in the last five years (2004-06, 2008), Since 2004, Visser has coached three WCC Player of the Years, one WCC Defender of the Year and 10 All-WCC First Team performers, while directing the Dons to a 53-39-9 overall record.

FIVE RETURNING DONS EARN ALL-WCC HONORS: USF welcomes back five players who captured All-West Coast Conference honors a year ago, including 2008 WCC Player of the Year Conor Chinn. Senior midfielders Jonathan Levi and Leon Williams and junior forward Bryan Burke earned second team selection. Both Burke and Chinn were named to the 2009 All-WCC Preseason Team as selected by the league's coaches. Sophomore defender Omar Elmasri, collected WCC Honorable Mention selection and was also picked for the all-freshman squad.

USF HEAD COACH Erik Visser: USF head coach Erik Visser took a young, inexperienced team featuring just five seniors and 11 upperclassmen to the 2008 West Coast Conference Championship. The conference crown is the third for the Dons in the last five seasons under Visser and the NCAA Tournament berth is the fourth for the Green and Gold in five campaigns. After guiding San Francisco to consecutive West Coast Conference titles (2004-05), Visser and the Dons secured a runner-up finish in 2006 with a 12-7-1 overall record, while playing a schedule rated in the top-10 nationally. From 2004-06, USF recorded a 37-17-6 record and recorded the most league victories (22) during the span.

VISSER'S CHAMPIONSHIP CREDENTIALS A three-time WCC Coach of the Year (2004-05, 2008), Visser owns deep ties to the soccer program at the University of San Francisco. A defender on two USF NCAA Championship teams (1978, 1980), Visser spent 19 seasons as an assistant coach under soccer legend Steve Negoesco before taking the reigns as head coach for the 2001 campaign. Along the way, Visser also started the women's soccer program on the Hilltop in 1985 and served as head coach for six years. Visser is active in the USA National Team program and served as the top assistant for the U-20 team that finished 13th in the 2001 Youth World Cup in Argentina. Visser recorded his 50th career victory at Portland (11/10/05) and owns an overall mark of 79-65-11. Former Dons standout Josh McKay is in his seventh season as top assistant coach and fourth as an associate head coach, while Tyler Gottschalk is in his sixth campaign as an assistant. Chris Carniato enters his third season on the coaching staff.

USF ONCE AGAIN FEATURES THE UNITED NATIONS LINEUP: USF men's soccer boasts a long and distinguished history of drawing outstanding players from throughout the world and the 2009 squad is no exception. This year's squad features players from no fewer than seven countries and four continents. The country roll call features 27 players from the United States, three Dons from Sweden, and one each from Canada, Colombia, Holland, Jamaica and Japan.

PLENTY OF BONUS SOCCER: Sometimes 90 minutes is not enough action for USF soccer. San Francisco finally broke through for its first overtime victory of the 2008 season with a dramatic 1-0 double-overtime victory at Saint Mary's (11/9), improving to 1-2-2 in extra time this season. The Dons posted deadlocks at Santa Clara (10/24) and against UNLV (9/19). USF's extra period losses came in a 1-0 double overtime loss at San Jose State (9/10) and a tough double overtime defeat against Gonzaga (11/2). In 2007, the Dons played three "bonus" soccer contests and went 2-0-1, highlighted by a 2-1 double overtime decision at Stanford (9/16) and a scoreless draw at San Diego (10/21). San Francisco played four matches requiring an additional period in 2006 and posted a 2-1-1 overall record and went 1-1-1 in matches needing both overtime sessions. This was in sharp contrast to the 2005 season when the Dons played a remarkable seven matches that reached double overtime and registered a 2-1-4 overall record, 1-1-3 during West Coast Conference play. Since the start of 2004, USF owns a 8-6-9 slate during "bonus soccer" matches.

WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: San Francisco has been tough in matches decided by one goal the last four seasons and 2008 proved to be no exception. USF played 12 contests decided by a one goal margin during the regular season and posted a 5-7 slate, but won five of its last eight to end the season. The Dons posted a 6-8 record in tight matches in 2007. USF played 13 matches in 2006 decided by one goal, posting an 8-5 record in those contests. The Dons defense allowed a maximum of two goals only five times in 2006. Dating back to October of the 2003 campaign, USF owns a 36-29 ledger in one goal matches, including a 5-4 mark in 2005.

ROAD WARRIORS: San Francisco has proven tough on the road and since the start of the 2005 season owns a 22-18-2 record in true away matches, while posting a 16-12-2 slate in West Coast Conference road tilts since the start of the 2004 campaign. The Dons are 3-2-2 at neutral sites during the same span. USF posted a sparkling 4-1-1 WCC road record in 2008.

DONS DEFENSE STINGY: San Francisco continued to establish itself as a tough defensive unit and posted a league-leading eight shutouts in 2008, the last coming in a 1-0 double overtime win at Saint Mary's (11/9). During the 2008 regular season, the Dons gave up a league-low 22 scoring strikes. USF allowed a season-high five goals at Loyola Marymount (11/16) with the 2008 West Coast Conference title and automatic NCAA berth guaranteed after a 2-1 triumph at San Diego (11/14). San Francisco's senior goalkeeping tandem of Eric Conner and Jeremy Coupe led the West Coast Conference in GAA at 1.05. Coupe led the league in shutouts (7) and WCC only GAA (0.76). USF keepers recorded a league-low 55 saves.

DONS SOCCER ON THE NET THIS WEEK: USF's home opener against UMKC will feature streaming audio and video courtesy of Yahoo Broadcast to go along with live scoring via GameTracker. The Dons match at New Mexico will feature GameTracker and will feature live video streaming courtesy of CBS Sports Online.

USF SOCCER CLOSING IN ON 750 PROGRAM VICTORIES: USF enters the 2009 regular season opener against UMKC with 746 victories in program history after posting a 9-10-2 mark during the 2009 campaign. Since soccer's "modern era" began on the Hilltop in 1946, the Dons own a 746-283-93 overall record.

UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: After taking on New Mexico Friday, USF returns to San Francisco to host Sacramento State in the 2009 BMW/Nike Soccer Challenge Friday, September 11 at Negoesco Stadium. Match time against the Hornets is set for 7:00 PM on the Hilltop.

DONS EARN PRESEASON RANKINGS: After winning the 2008 West Coast Conference Championship and advancing to the program's 31st NCAA Tournament last Fall, USF men's soccer earned its second preseason ranking in the last four seasons, entering the Top Drawer Soccer poll at No. 22 and cracked the College Soccer News poll at No. 30. USF has cracked the top-25 in three of the last four regular seasons, reaching No. 8 in September of 2006.

SAN FRANCISCO IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: No stranger to postseason soccer, San Francisco made its 31st appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2008. The Dons own a rich soccer tradition with six national championships, two national runner-up showings and seven College Cups (Final Four). The Dons own a 44-24-1 NCAA Tournament record with four NCAA Titles (1966, 1975, 1976 & 1980), seven appearances in the finals (last 1980) and 10 showings in the national quarterfinals (last 1983).

SAN FRANCISCO WINS ITS 12TH WCC CHAMPIONSHIP: After defeating San Diego 2-1 November 14, San Francisco secured its 12th West Coast Conference title - the most in league history. Santa Clara is second with 11 championship trophies, followed by Portland (6), San Diego (4) and Gonzaga (2).

SAN FRANCISCO WINS ITS 34TH CONFERENCE TITLE: USF won its 12th West Coast Conference title with a 2-1 road victory at San Diego (11/14/08) and its third in five seasons. It also marks the 34th overall for the Dons soccer program. San Francisco won four Pacific Soccer League titles (1977, 1978, 1979 & 1980) and 18 Northern California Intercollegiate Soccer Conference crowns (1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1974 & 1975). USF won the WCC hardware in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2004, 2005 & 2008.

USF IN SEASON OPENERS: Since 2000, USF owns a 5-4-0 overall record in season openers. The Dons have suffered back-to-back 1-0 losses in their last two debuts, dropping a 1-0 road decision to No. 20 Northwestern in 2008 and fell to Vermont in the 2007 season debut at Negoesco Stadium, snapping a modest three-game winning streak in curtain lifters.

DONS PICKED FIRST IN 2009 WCC COACHES POLL: The University of San Francisco garnered the maximum six first place votes to earn the top spot in the 2009 West Coast Conference men's soccer preseason coaches poll, as voted on by the head coaches in the conference. The defending WCC Champion Dons captured their 12th WCC title in 2008 after being picked fourth in the preseason poll and advanced to the 31st NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Following USF in the poll is longtime Bay Area rival Santa Clara, which narrowly edged out Loyola Marymount University and Gonzaga University, which tied for third place in the poll.

HERE COME THE DONS: After going through the longest conference championship and postseason drought in program history (1995-03), USF men's soccer continues to surge under the direction of head coach Erik Visser. Last season the Dons captured their third West Coast Conference Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five seasons. Since 2004, three Dons have captured WCC Player of the Year accolades (Aaron Chandler, 2004; Rob Valentino, 2006; Conor Chinn, 2008), while Visser has collected coach of the year hardware three times.

USF SOCCER DONS MADE HISTORY 20 YEARS AGO: One of the most storied programs, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of one of the finest teams ever to wear the Green and Gold. San Francisco's 1979 squad turned in the most prolific offensive season in NCAA soccer history, scoring a remarkable 139 goals (5.1 per game). No fewer than six Dons recorded 10 or more scoring strikes, led by Bjorn Tronsdad, who established USF single-season records with 29 goals and 71 points.

CHINN ENJOYS RECORD-SETTING JUNIOR SEASON: After going scoreless in his first four matches in 2008, junior forward Conor Chinn made up for lost time and has scored 17 goals in his last 14 contests. The 2008 West Coast Conference Player of the Year, led the league in overall (17) and league (14) scoring strikes has registered three multi-goal games this season with a hat trick at LMU (11/6) and tallied two against Gonzaga (11/2) and Portland (10/31) Chinn has a WCC high six game-winners in 2008. Chinn shattered the conference record with 14 goals in WCC matches easily passing the previous standard of eight goals by San Diego's Guillermo Jara in 1995 and his 29 points in league action eclipsed the previous mark turned in by Portland's Jim Clarke in 1993, who finished with 19. The San Diego native finished 2008 tied for second place on the Dons single-season goals list with 17, including six game-winners.