Defending WCC Champion Dons Open League Play in Southern California

Oct. 1, 2009

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UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: San Francisco opens defense of its West Coast Conference title this week beginning Friday, October 2 against No. 25 Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. The Dons then tackle San Diego in a Sunday matinee at Torero Stadium. The Lions are off to a solid 5-3 start, while the Toreros enter league play with a 4-3-0 record. USF split with both opponents last season. The Dons enter conference fresh off a pair of double overtime results last week - a 2-1 victory against ancient Bay Area rival San Jose State and a 1-1 deadlock against No. 25 Brown on Sunday.

COACH VISSER ON YOUTUBE: Coach Visser previews the opening weekend of the 2009 West Coast Conference campaign on his weekly YouTube interview. Fans can access the interview by scrolling to the bottom of the page and using the embedded player or by accessing the USF Athletics YouTube channel - YouTube.com/USFDonsAthletics

USF SOCCER CLOSING IN ON 750 PROGRAM VICTORIES: USF enters the fifth week of the 2009 regular season with 749 victories in program history after posting 3-3-1 mark during the 2009 campaign. Since soccer's "modern era" began on the Hilltop in 1946, the Dons own a 749-283-94 overall record. UCLA (856) is the only Division I program with more all-time victories.

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 the fifth week of his senior season with 31 goals, 10 game-winners, 10 assists and 72 points in 63 career matches.

HOW SWEDE IT IS: Three Swedish players are making a big impact for USF this season on the Dons' "United Nations" roster. Senior midfielder Jonathan Levi (Varberg) rates second in points with six (two goals, two assists). A 2008 All-West Coast Conference Second Team selection, Levi has started every match in his USF career and serves as a team co-captain. A two-year starter, sophomore defender Victor Wennberg (Boras) has started all six matches for the Dons in 2009. Freshman forward Oscar Englund (Enskede) provided the game-winner for San Francisco in the season-opening 4-1 triumph against UMKC (9/1/09).

USF IN WEST COAST CONFERENCE OPENERS: San Francisco opens West Coast Conference play Friday night at Loyola Marymount. The Dons own an overall record of 12-9 in league lid-lifters dating to the start of round robin conference play in 1988 with a 9-3 mark at Negoesco Stadium; 4-6 on the road. USF has struggled out of the WCC gate since 2000, posting just a 3-6 record, but took a 1-0 road decision at Gonzaga to open the 2008 campaign in the first opening decision a 4-0 win against Saint Mary's in 2002.

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 82-68-12. 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.

NON-CONFERENCE REVIEW: USF posted a 3-3-1 overall record during the non-conference schedule and after scoring just three goals during the non-conference schedule a year ago en route to a 2-5-1 record, the Dons have rebounded for eight goals in 2009 pre-conference play. San Francisco achieved a ranking as high as No. 16 after posting an impressive 1-0 road triumph at New Mexico (9/5). The Dons capped the pre-conference slate with a 1-1 home deadlock against No. 25 Brown (9/27).

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 2009 campaign with a dramatic 2-1 double-overtime victory against San Jose State (9/25), improving to 1-1-1 in extra time this season. San Francisco posted a 1-4-2 slate in "bonus soccer" matches last season. In 2007, the Dons played three extra session 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 9-7-10 slate during "bonus soccer" matches.

WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: San Francisco has been tough in matches decided by one goal the last four-plus seasons and 2009 is proving no exception. The Dons own a 2-2 record in matches with a one-goal margin. USF played a whopping 12 contests decided by a one goal margin in 2008 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 38-31 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 23-19-2 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.

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 all-freshman squad accolades.

DONS SOCCER ON THE NET THIS WEEK: USF's opening West Coast Conference matches at Loyola Marymount and San Diego will feature plenty of online coverage. The Dons match at LMU on Friday will feature GameTracker along with live streaming audio, while GameTracker and live streaming video will be available Sunday at Torero Stadium. GameTracker and streaming audio/video can be accessed on USFDons.com via the events menu.

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 30 YEARS AGO: One of the most storied programs, 2009 marks the 30th 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.