Nov. 6, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: San Francisco opens a crucial weekend Friday with its 2008 home finale against the Academy of Art. The Dons will honor its five member senior class of Eric Conner, Jeremy Coupe, Jeff Russell, Kyle Schlumpf and Bryan VanCura in a special pre-match ceremony. The Dons then travel across the Bay Bridge for a West Coast Conference showdown at Saint Mary's Sunday. USF looks to avenge an ugly 3-1 home loss suffered October 10. San Francisco holds a 16-8-1 advantage in the all-time series dating to 1985, but the two teams have split the last four meetings. Last season, the Dons took a 2-1 win in Moraga, behind goals from Ben Dessard and Brandon McDonald.

DONS DEFENSE STINGY: San Francisco continued to establish itself as a tough defensive unit with its league-leading sixth shutout of the season coming in a 3-0 drubbing of Portland (10/31). Through 16 matches, the Dons have given up a league-low 16 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 owns six shutouts on the year, leads the conference in GAA (0.87). USF keepers have recorded a league-low 43 saves.

CHINN DOES IT AGAIN: Junior forward Conor Chinn led the Dons to a 5-2-1 mark in the month of October and was a difference maker, scoring a remarkable seven goals in eight league contests during the month. For his efforts, he earned West Coast Conference Player of the Month honors. With a two goal outburst on Halloween in a 3-0 blanking of Portland, Chinn moved into a share of second place on the single-season goals list for league matches with his seventh scoring strike to close a prolific October. Chinn opened the month by tallying game-winners in back-to-back 1-0 victories at Gonzaga (10/3) and Portland (10/5) and recorded 15 points and scored in six of the Dons eight contests. The San Diego native would set the WCC single-season record for goals (9) and tie the single-season points (19) mark with two goals against Gonzaga (11/2) and has three conference matches remaining to expand the record. For his career, Chinn has 21 goals, six game-winners, nine assists and 51 points. Chinn's 11 goals on the year are the most since Aaron Chandler recorded 12 in his WCC Player of the Year campaign in 2004. Chinn currently ranks No. 21 nationally among Division I leaders in goals per game (0.69).

ROAD WARRIORS: San Francisco has proven tough on the road and since the start of the 2005 season owns a 20-17-2 record in true away matches, while posting a 14-11-2 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 VS. ACADEMY OF ART LIVE ON THE INTERNET: USF's 2008 home finale at Negoesco Stadium against Academy of Art 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. USF's WCC contest Sunday at Saint Mary's will feature live scoring.

SCOUTING ACADEMY OF ART: The Urban Knights, a first-year athletic program, enter Friday's contest at Negoesco Stadium with a 5-7-4 record and secured a split against Northwest Nazarene University this week, taking game one 3-1 on Monday, before suffering a 2-1 setback to the Crusaders on Tuesday. Freshman forward Emmanual Onywera leads the way for AAU with six goals on the season. The Urban Knights are coached by Daniel Rosaia in his inaugural collegiate head coaching assignment.

A LOOK AT SAINT MARY'S: The Gaels enter their sixth week of West Coast Conference play with a 4-8-3 overall record and a 3-3-2 mark in league play. Saint Mary's earned a split last weekend on the road in Southern California, taking down league-leading San Diego 2-0 (11/2) after dropping a 1-0 setback at Loyola Marymount (10/31). Junior midfielder Yousef Samy leads the way for the Gaels offensively with five goals and 11 points, while no fewer than eight additional players have at least one goal on the season. Head coach Adam Cooper is in his third season at Saint Mary's and owns a record of 15-27-10 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 76-63-11. 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 0-2-2 in extra time after posting deadlocks at Santa Clara (10/24) and against UNLV (9/19). USF's only 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). 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 7-6-9 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 looks like it will prove to be no exception. USF has already played nine decided by a one goal margin this season and own a 3-6 slate, but have won three of its last five. 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 the entire WCC in goals (11), points (23), shots (53) and 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 16 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 (10/21/07). 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 (6), and GAA (0.87) and rates seventh in saves (34).

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.