Oct. 22, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: USF prepares for a crucial West Coast Conference weekend when it tackles ancient Bay Area rival and perennial league power Santa Clara twice in 48 hours. The Dons travel south to take on the Broncos Friday, October 24 under the lights at Buck Shaw Stadium and then host SCU Sunday night at Negoesco Stadium. Last season Santa Clara won both matches, with the No. 4 Broncos securing a 2-1 victory October 12 in a match televised live on Fox Soccer Channel in the South Bay and then took a 2-1 win on the Hilltop November 9. Sophomore forward Conor Chinn scored both goals for the Dons.

DONS & BRONCOS - THE SERIES: While USF owns a 28-19-7 record in the all-time series, dating back to 1967, Santa Clara has enjoyed the better of the rivalry of late. Since 2000, the Broncos have compiled a 10-1-1 record against the Dons. USF's last win came in a 1-0 decision against the No. 12 Broncos (10/29/04). San Francisco dropped a pair of 2-1 decisions to its longtime rivals last season with the Broncos boasting top-five rankings in both meetings.

QUOTING VISSER ON SANTA CLARA: "We're very much looking forward to an exciting weekend of soccer with back-to-back games against Santa Clara. There is a long history and highly competitive tradition between the two programs. These matches should be fun to watch and very competitive."

DONS DEFENSE STINGY: San Francisco continued to establish itself as a tough defensive unit with its league-leading fourth shutout victory of the season in a 1-0 decision against Loyola Marymount (10/19). Through 12 matches, the Dons have given up a league-low 12 scoring strikes. San Francisco's senior goalkeeping tandem of Eric Conner and Jeremy Coupe lead the West Coast Conference in GAA at 0.97. Coupe, who owns four shutout wins on the year, ranks second in conference GAA (0.85). USF keepers have recorded a league-low 30 saves.

CHINN DOES IT AGAIN: Junior forward Conor Chinn scored a goal for the fourth straight match with a tally against San Diego (10/17) last Friday. Chinn, who has scored six of San Francisco's eight goals this season, registered his fourth goal 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 six of his last eight matches, leads the West Coast Conference with three game-winners this season. Chinn enters Friday's WCC showdown at Santa Clara with 16 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. SANTA CLARA LIVE ON THE INTERNET: USF's West Coast Conference matches against Santa Clara this weekend 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 SANTA CLARA: The Broncos enter their fourth week of West Coast Conference play with a 3-6-4 overall record and a 1-2-2 mark in league play. Santa Clara split last weekend at Buck Shaw Stadium, collecting a 1-0 victory against previous league unbeaten San Diego Sunday and deadlocked Loyola Marymount 1-1 Friday night. Junior midfielder Jeff Cosgriff leads the way for the Broncos offensively with three goals and eight points, while three additional players have two goals on the season. Santa Clara has recorded 15 scoring strikes in 13 matches on the season, but the defense has allowed a league-high 21. Head coach Cameron Rast is in his sixth season at his alma mater and owns a record of 83-29-17 and led the Broncos to their second straight WCC title 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 74-62-10. 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 eight decided by a one goal margin this season and own a 3-5 slate, but have won three of its last four. 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 34-28 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/6), points (2nd/12), shots (2nd/39) 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 (0.97) and have allowed a league-low 12 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 shutouts (4), is second in GAA (0.85) and rates seventh in saves (21).

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.