Oct. 8, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: USF welcomes ancient Bay Area rival Saint Mary's to the Hilltop Friday, October 10 for the 2008 West Coast Conference home opener. The Dons are coming off a 2-0-0 Pacific Northwest road trip to open league play, while the Gaels earned a split last weekend, dropping a 1-0 decision to visiting San Diego before bouncing back for a 2-1 victory against Loyola Marymount. The Dons and the Gaels split the season series last year with each team winning on the road. Saint Mary's took a 1-0 decision in the City (10/26/07) but USF avenged the loss two days later with a 2-1 triumph in Moraga (10/28/07).

QUOTING VISSER ON SAINT MARY'S: "Saint Mary's is a very tough opponent and we anticipate another typical, hard-fought West Coast Conference match with a Bay Area rival. We are focused and prepared for another challenge Friday."

DONS DEFENSE STINGY: After posting back-to-back 1-0 shutouts at Gonzaga (10/3) and Portland (10/5) to open West Coast Conference play San Francisco continued to establish itself as a tough defensive unit. Through nine 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 0.75. Coupe, who owns three shutout wins on the year, leads the league in GAA (0.68).

Jeremy Coupe - WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior goalkeeper Jeremy Coupe kept opponents scoreless in the opening weekend of West Coast Conference play and captured WCC Player of the Week honors in the process. Coupe led the Dons to a Pacific Northwest sweep at Gonzaga and Portland to open the 2008 league campaign. Coupe posted back-to-back shutouts, lowering his season GAA to an impressive 0.68. The Livermore, CA native made five saves on the weekend, preserving the Dons' first 2-0 WCC start since going 3-0 to open the 2002 campaign and their first road sweep of the Bulldogs and Pilots since 2005. Coupe was tested Sunday in the Rose City, facing 13 shots, but extended his scoreless streak to 199:30.

CHINN DOES IT AGAIN: Junior forward Conor Chinn registered his fourth goal of the season and third game-winner of the year in the 70th minute at Portland (10/5) and also tallied the decisive blow in USF's 1-0 shutout at Gonzaga (10/3). Chinn, who has scored a goal in four of his last five matches, leads the West Coast Conference with three game-winners this season. Chinn enters Friday's WCC showdown against Saint Mary's with 14 career goals, six of them decisive.

ROAD WARRIORS: San Francisco has proven tough on the road and since the start of the 2005 season owns a 20-17-1 record in true away matches, while posting a 14-11-1 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 VS. SAINT MARY'S LIVE ON THE INTERNET: USF's West Coast Conference home opener against Saint Mary's will feature plenty of cyberspace coverage. Streaming audio and video will be available courtesy of Yahoo Broadcast, while CSTV's GameTracker live scoring feature will also be available. Matt Pedersen will call the play-by-play live for USFDons.com on the Yahoo Broadcast.

A LOOK AT SAINT MARY'S: The Gaels enter their second week of West Coast Conference play with a 2-6-1 overall record and a 1-1-0 mark in league play. Saint Mary's earned a split last weekend in Moraga, dropping a 1-0 setback against San Diego (10/3), before bouncing back for a 2-1 win against Loyola Marymount (10/5) to collect its first win since a 4-2 victory at Navy August 31. Junior midfielder Yousef Samy leads the way for the Gaels offensively with three goals and seven points, while no fewer than seven additional players have one goal on the season. Saint Mary's has recorded 11 scoring strikes in nine matches on the season, but the defense has allowed 15. Head coach Adam Cooper is in his third season at Saint Mary's and owns a record of 13-25-9 and led the Gaels to a fourth place league finish last season.

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 73-60-10. 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. USF has already played six decided by a one goal margin this season and own a 2-4 slate, but have won its last two. The Dons posted a 6-8-0 record in tight matches last year. 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 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. So far in 2008, Chinn leads the team and ranks among WCC leaders in goals (2nd/4), points (4th/8), shots (3rd/27) and leads the league in game-winners (3).

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 leads the WCC in GAA (0.68) and is sixth in saves (17).

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.

LMU GAME TIME CHANGE: USF's 2008 regular season finale at Loyola Marymount (11/16) (originally 2:00) has shifted to a 1:00 PM start.

VOTE FOR STEVE: In 2008, the NCAA celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Men's College Cup in December and USF soccer legend Steve Negoesco has been nominated as a coach for the anniversary team. The ballot is now online for fans to vote. USF Athletics and Dons Soccer encourage everyone to "Vote for Steve".Voting began Monday, October 6 and runs through Wednesday, October 15, 2008. Simply log on to the address below. http://www.ncaa.com/polls/ncaasoccerpoll.php