Oct. 2, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: USF kicks off the 2008 West Coast Conference season when it travels to the Pacific Northwest to take on Gonzaga and Portland, beginning Friday, October 2 with a 3:00 PM match against the Bulldogs. San Francisco looks to bounce back after dropping a 2-0 loss in its last outing at No. 6 Cal last Friday in Berkeley. The Dons setback to the Bears marks the first time an opponent has scored more than one goal in a contest this season. Both Gonzaga and Portland have won three straight in the series.

USF IN WEST COAST CONFERENCE OPENERS: Last season San Francisco opened West Coast Conference play at home against Portland, and dropped a 1-0 decision. Entering Friday's league lid-lifter at Gonzaga, the Dons own an overall record of 11-9 in conference openers dating to the start of round robin conference play in 1988. Although USF boasts a 9-3 mark at Negoesco Stadium the road has been tougher, with the Dons posting a 2-6 slate. USF has struggled out of the WCC gate since 2000, posting just a 2-6 record and have not won a conference debut since a 4-0 win against Saint Mary's in 2002.

QUOTING VISSER ON OPENING WCC PLAY: "We are excited to begin the West Coast Conference campaign. I expect the race will be intense and challenging as usual. We made strides during the non-conference, now we must execute and put those lessons to use against two quality opponents."

DONS DEFENSE STINGY: Although goals have been tough to come by for the USF offense this season, opponents have not fared much better. Through seven matches, the Dons have given up a league-low seven scoring strikes. San Francisco's senior goalkeeping tandem of Eric Conner and Jeremy Coupe lead the West Coast Conference in GAA at 0.95. Coupe, who collected his first career USF shutout with a 2-0 blanking of Penn State (9/21) in the BMW/Nike Soccer Challenge, ranks second in the league in GAA (0.93).

ROAD WARRIORS: San Francisco has proven tough on the road and since the start of the 2005 season own a 18-17-1 record in true away matches, while posting a 12-11-1 slate in West Coast Conference road tilts. The Dons are 3-2-2 at neutral sites during the same span.

SAN FRANCISCO VS. THE NATIONAL ELITE: USF will never be accused of playing a soft schedule and this season is no exception. San Francisco dropped a tough 1-0 decision at No. 20 Northwestern in its 2008 debut and suffered a 2-0 shutout at No. 11 Cal (9/26). Last season the Dons tackled five top-25 opponents and posted a 1-4-0 record against the national elite. San Francisco claimed a satisfying 2-0 blanking of No. 11 Cal (9/14/07) and fought No. 5 UCLA (9/20/07) to a standstill, before falling 1-0 in the 88th minute. Since the start of the 2004 campaign, San Francisco owns a 6-13-2 record against top-25 foes.

USF AT GONZAGA AND PORTLAND ON THE INTERNET: USF's West Coast Conference opening road trip to the Pacific Northwest will feature plenty of coverage in cyberspace. GameTracker and streaming video (subscription) will be available for the Dons Friday match at Gonzaga. Sunday's contest in Portland features live stats and streaming audio and video, courtesy of PortlandPilots.com. The audio stream is a free service, while video can be purchased for a fee.

A LOOK AT GONZAGA: The Bulldogs enter their second week of West Coast Conference play with a 4-3-1 overall record and a 1-0-0 mark in league play. Their lone conference contest resulted in a 2-1 victory at Portland on Sept. 26. Junior forward Tye Perdido, a two-time All-WCC honoree, leads the Zags' attack with a team-high four goals for eight total points, while junior Bryan Mullaney paces the squad with four assists. Einar Thorinasson is in his 14th year as head coach of Gonzaga and has registered a 114-105-21 overall record and two NCAA tournament appearances, including a 2007 first round loss to SMU.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE BULLDOGS: USF men's soccer managed just five shots for the match and dropped a 1-0 decision to No. 29 Gonzaga Friday afternoon in West Coast Conference action at Martin Field. The Dons saw its three match road unbeaten string snapped by the surging Bulldogs (9-3-3, 4-1-3 WCC), who complete the season series sweep. John Reha tallied the only goal of the match - his first of the season - at the 31:03 mark on a feed from George Josten.

SCOUTING PORTLAND: The Pilots enter the weekend with a 3-3-2 overall record and 0-1-0 in West Coast Conference action. Portland following a three-match unbeaten streak, the Pilots dropped their last contest 2-1 to Gonzaga on Sept. 26. Sophomore midfielder Frankie Lopez leads Portland with a conference-leading six goals and 13 total points, averaging 0.75 goals and 1.32 points per game. Earlier this season, Lopez was named the WCC Player of the Week and earned multiple national accolades after posting four goals and an assist at the 2008 Nike Invitational. Bill Irwin is in his sixth year at the helm of the Pilots. Last season, Irwin led Portland to its first NCAA appearance since 2004 and its 13th appearance in program history.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE PILOTS: USF men's soccer fought Portland to a scoreless draw in the first 52 minutes and then the floodgates opened Sunday afternoon in West Coast Conference action at Merlo Field. The Dons suffered their second straight shutout in the Pacific Northwest, dropping a 3-0 decision to the Pilots, who complete the season series sweep.an Francisco owned an 18-13 shots advantage, but simply could not find the back of the net as Portland freshman goalkeeper Austin Guerrero blanked the Dons for the second time in 2007.

USF HEAD COACH Erik Visser: USF head coach Erik Visser enters his eighth year as the top Don and his 31st associated with the San Francisco soccer program as a player, assistant and now head coach. Although USF's string of three straight NCAA Tournament appearances was snapped last season, with another outstanding crop of newcomers and an experienced blend of returning players, Visser looks to guide the Dons back to the top of the standings in an increasingly competitive West Coast Conference. 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 two-time WCC Coach of the Year (2004-05), 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 71-60-10. Former Dons standout Josh McKay is in his sixth season as top assistant coach and third as an associate head coach, while Tyler Gottschalk is in his fifth campaign as an assistant. Chris Carniato enters his first season as an assistant/goalkeeper coach.

PLENTY OF BONUS SOCCER: Sometimes 90 minutes is not enough action for USF soccer. So far in 2008 San Francisco is 0-1-1 in extra time after posting a draw last week against UNLV (9/19) and dropped a 1-0 loss in double overtime at San Jose State (9/10). Last season 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), continuing a trend of extra session success. 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 the 2004 season, USF owns a 7-5-8 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 looks like it will prove to be no exception. The Dons posted a 6-8-0 record in tight matches last year and already have played four decided by a one goal margin this season. San Francisco 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 33-27 ledger in one goal matches, including a 5-4-0 mark during the 2005 campaign.

CHINN AMONG WCC SCORING LEADERS: Junior forward Conor Chinn led USF in goals (6) and points (17) and ranked second in assists (5) during a solid sophomore campaign. Chinn ranked fourth among West Coast Conference leaders in goals, sixth in points and rated third in shots (44). Chinn scored four goals against nationally elite teams last season, scoring two goals to lead the Dons to a 2-1 victory against No. 11 Cal (9/14) and struck for a goal at No. 4 Santa Clara (10/12/07) and added another against the No. 3 Broncos (11/9/07) at home. Chinn scored his first goals of the year against UNLV (9/19) and notched the game-winner against Penn State (9/21).

SENIORS SHINE IN GOAL FOR THE DONS: Senior goalkeepers Eric Conner and Jeremy Coupe have done a solid job for USF this season. The tandem has combined to lead the West Coast Conference in GAA (0.95) and have allowed a league-low five goals so far in 2008. Conner collected his first career shutout in the Green and Gold in a scoreless double overtime deadlock at San Diego (10/21). Coupe, who secured USF's 2-1 victory against No. 11 Cal last season and the Dons inaugural win with his first career shutout against Penn State (9/21), currently ranks second among WCC GAA (0.93) and is sixth in saves (12).

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 2008 squad is no exception. This year's features players from no fewer than six countries and three continents. The country roll call features 30 players from the United States, two Dons from Sweden, and one each from Canada, Jamaica, Japan and Spain.

GAME TIME CHANGES: USF's contest at Portland (10/5) has been changed to a 1:30 start (originally 2:30) and the Dons regular season finale at Loyola Marymount (11/16) (originally 2:00) has shifted to a 1:00 PM start.