Nov. 17, 2004
Complete USF NCAA Tournament Release in PDF Format
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DONS HOST PANTHERS IN THE 2004 NCAA TOURNAMENT: USF men's soccer prepares to host the Panthers of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament Saturday, November 20 in a 1:00 PM match at Negoesco Stadium. Fresh off winning their first West Coast Conference title since 1994, with a 1-0 victory against Gonzaga last Sunday in the regular season finale, the Dons (14-4-1, 9-3 WCC) now square off against the Panthers (13-4-3), the champions of the Horizon League. USF enters the tournament on a hot streak, having won 10 of their last 11 contests in the challenging WCC. Four league teams qualified for the tournament (Loyola Marymount, Portland, Santa Clara). UWM enters their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance with the nation's longest active winning streak at 10 games. The winner of the UWM vs. USF match will travel to UC Santa Barbara Tuesday, November 23 for a 7:00 PM contest against the top-ranked Gauchos at Harder Stadium.
USF WINS 10TH WEST COAST CONFERENCE TITLE: USF's 1-0 victory against Gonzaga in the 2004 regular season finale secured the Dons first West Coast Conference Championship since the 1994 season and first outright trophy since 1991. The crown is the 10th captured by the Green and Gold as members of the WCC since 1981, the first year of official league sponsorship of men's soccer. USF also won the WCC in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1994.
WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: USF posted a remarkable 10-3 record this season in matches decided by one goal. This shows the strength of the Dons defense, who as a unit allowed two or more goals only three times during the season. USF's goalkeeping tandem of sophomore Geremy Uhl and senior Mark Muleady posted a sparkling 0.92 GAA between them. Dating back to October of the 2003 campaign, USF owns a 14-5 mark in one goal matches.
DONS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: USF prepares to make their 28th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the most of any West Coast Conference school. The Dons own a 44-20-1 NCAA Tournament record with four NCAA Titles (1966, 1975, 1976 & 1980), seven appearances in the finals (last 1980) and 10 showings in the national semifinals (last 1983). San Francisco tied Fresno State 1-1 in their last NCAA Tournament appearance in 1994, winning the penalty kick shoot out, before falling in the second round 1-0 at Cal State Fullerton.
USF NCAA SOCCER TICKET INFORMATION: Prices for USF's NCAA first round match against Wisconsin-Milwaukee are as follows: Reserved seating - $15; General admission prices - $10, adults and $7 for students and seniors. Children under 14 are $3. For more information, contact the USF ticket office at (415) 422-2USF.
USF NCAA SOCCER LIVE INTERNET GAME STATS: Follow all the 2004 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament games live via the internet at www.ncaasports.com/soccer/mens/scoreboard/div1.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE: The Panthers enter the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament riding a 10-match winning streak and swept through the Horizon League Tournament, capturing the league title. UWM is making their fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and finished the 2004 regular season with a record of 13-4-3. Senior forward Antou Jallow does the bulk of the heavy lifting for the Panthers offensively with 16 goals and 36 points on the season. Sophomore forward Dale Weiler adds four goals and a team-high 13 assists, while junior midfielder Neil Dombrowski adds a pair of goals and seven assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Eric Mickschl has played in 14 matches with 13 starts and owns a 10-3-1 overall record with a 0.73 GAA to go along with 41 saves. The Panthers outscored their opponents 42-18 this season and held a 296-186 shot advantage. Louis Bennett is in his ninth season on the sidelines for UWM and owns a 121-58-12 overall record and has guided his team into the NCAA Tournament four straight times.
SERIES RECORD/STREAK: UWM leads 1-0.
LAST MEETING: UWM def. USF 5-2 at the Great Lakes Classic (9/18/94)
THE LAST TIME: Two-time USF First Team All-American Staale Soebye scored his sixth goal of his senior campaign, while Chris Bradley also added a scoring strike but it was not enough as Wisconsin-Milwaukee took a convincing 5-2 victory at the 1994 Great Lakes Classic in the only meeting between the two schools. Current USF assistant coach Josh McKay was a member of the team and current USF head coach Erik Visser was the top assistant under soccer legend Steve Negoesco.
USF HEAD COACH Erik Visser: Fourth-year USF head coach Erik Visser propelled the Dons to their best season since the 1991 campaign and the first West Coast Conference title since 1994 in 2004. 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 40th career victory against Gonzaga November 14, 2004 and owns an overall mark of 40-32-4. Former Dons standout Josh McKay is in his second season as top assistant coach, while U.S. Soccer legend Hugo Perez is in his third season on the staff. Jim Lasher is the goalkeeper coach, while Tyler Gottschalk serves as the administrative assistant.
Chris Schwarze FOR THE DEFENSE: Senior defender and USF team captain Chris Schwarze continues to do an outstanding job coordinating the Dons defensive efforts. The three-time All-West Coast Conference selection established a career-high with three assists on the year, recording two in USF's 3-1 victory against UMass (9/4) in the 2004 diadora Classic and added another in the Dons 2-1 overtime win at Yale (9/10). Schwarze was named USF's team MVP last season and also earned First Team All-WCC honors in 2003.
Geremy Uhl STRONG IN THE GOAL: Sophomore goalkeeper Geremy Uhl has posted an outstanding season for USF between the pipes this season. Uhl led the West Coast Conference in GAA during league games this season with a stingy 0.38 and posted a remarkable five shutouts in just eight WCC contests. Uhl posted a 9-1 record this season with a 0.70 GAA to go along with 38 saves in 900:00 minutes. In two seasons on the Hilltop, Uhl owns a 13-4-1 overall record with eight shutouts to his credit.
Brandon McDonald MAKING AN IMPACT: Freshman forward Brandon McDonald has made a big impact in his first season at USF. The 2003 NSCAA and McDonald's High School All-American ranks second on the team in goals (4) and points (10). McDonald earned West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors after scoring a pair of goals in the Dons' 4-1 pasting of Portland (11/12) and assisting on the game-winner in USF's WCC title-clinching victory against Gonzaga (11/14).
DONS DOING IT WITH DEFENSE: One of the keys to USF's success this season has been their stingy defense. The Dons ranked first or second in virtually every meaningful defensive statistic among West Coast Conference leaders, ranking second in goals (18/0.95) and shots (180/9.47) allowed. San Francisco posted five shutouts on the season and held opponents to 10 shots or less 12 times and limited foes to five shots or less in five matches. During league play USF's defense was even better, allowing a WCC-low nine goals in 12 matches (0.75) and ranked second in shutouts in league matches with five.
Aaron Chandler CONTINUES TO SHINE FOR USF: Sophomore forward Aaron Chandler continues to provide highlights for USF this season and sent his seventh game-winner to the back of the net against Gonzaga to secure the 2004 West Coast Conference Championship for the Dons in a 1-0 victory last Sunday. Chandler leads the WCC in goals (12), points (27) and game-winners (7). Six of Chandler's deciding tallies on the season came in league play, setting a new WCC record. including six in 12 WCC games, the most in league history. In fact, all but one of his game-winners came in matches USF won by a single goal and all but one came in the second half. Chandler recorded game-winners in three straight WCC matches - at #22 Portland, at Saint Mary's and against Saint Mary's. In addition, the former walk-on registered the decisive strike at league leading #24 Loyola Marymount. Chandler posted the first multi-goal matches of his career with back-to-back two goal matches against Davidson (9/16) and San Jose State (9/18). In just two seasons in the Green and Gold, Chandler has turned in 16 goals, five assists and 37 points. The Riverside native was named the WCC Player of the Month in September and was a two-time WCC Player of the Week honoree.
DONS SOCCER IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: USF enters the 2004 NCAA Tournament ranked in three national soccer polls. The Dons are rated 14th in the current College Soccer News Poll, after entering at No. 19 November 1. USF earned a No. 19 ranking in the current Soccer America Poll after entering November 1 at No. 25. San Francisco is rated No. 23 in the Soccer Times Poll as of November 8, entering the list at No. 25 November 1.
Jordan Keyes MAKES HIS MARK: Freshman forward Jordan Keyes has shown flashes of brilliance for USF this season. Keyes scored goals in his first two career matches on the Hilltop in diadora Classic wins against UC Davis (9/2) and UMass (9/4). Keyes shares the team assists lead (6) and turned in a two-assist effort in a 3-1 victory against Davidson (9/16) in the Santa Clara Classic. Keyes ranks fifth among West Coast Conference assists leaders in all matches, along with sophomore teammate Matt Languis and shares seventh place with three assists in league contests.
Matt Languis DISHING FOR THE DONS: Sophomore midfielder Matt Languis continues to do a good job as a playmaker and shares the team lead with six assists on the season, with five coming in West Coast Conference play. Languis ranks fifth among WCC assists leaders along with freshman teammate Jordan Keyes in all matches and shares the overall assists lead in league contests. A 2003 All-WCC Honorable Mention selection, Languis has tallied five goals and 10 assists in two seasons on the Hilltop.
Kevin Long STEPS UP FOR USF: Sophmore defender Kevin Long has enjoyed a strong second season on the Hilltop. A member of the USA U-20 National Team, Long scored four goals on the season with a pair of game-winners. Long earned West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors after scoring the deciding goal against #12 Santa Clara (10/29) in USF's first victory against the Broncos since 1993. Long also recorded the game-winner against Davidson (9/16) at the Santa Clara Classic.
10 DONS EARN ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE HONORS: The West Coast Conference today announced that USF sophomore forward Aaron Chandler has been named "WCC Player of the Year" and that head coach Erik Visser has been "Coach of the Year." USF also placed Chandler, Chris Schwarze and Rob Valentino on the all-WCC First Team. Chandler led the conference with 12 goals this season, seven of them gamewinners. All but one of his game-winners came in games that USF won by just a single goal, many late in the game. Visser took a team that was predicted to finish fifth in the league and took it to the top, winning nine of its last 10 games to finish the regular season 14-4-1 and win the WCC title. It was USF's first crown since 1993. He has built a young team that brings much of its lineup back intact next season. USF also placed three players on the conference's second team including GK Geremy Uhl, who led the the league in shutouts and goals against average; defender Luis Arguilar and midfielder Chris McDonald. Defender Kevin Long was named WCC Honorable Mention. Named to the all-freshman team were McDonald and Valentino. The Dons return all of the players honored today, with the exception of senior midfielder Chris Schwarze, who was named to all-WCC for the third time.
Erik Visser BY THE NUMBERS: USF head coach Erik Visser is in his third decade of coaching on the Hilltop. Since joining soccer legend Steve Negoesco's staff in 1981, Visser has served as an assistant coach on the men's team (1981-2000), served as head coach of the women's team (1985-90) before taking the reigns of the Green and Gold in 2001. Visser has coached in a remarkable 585 games at USF and during his four-year playing career competed in 102 matches for a total of 687 games.
PRODUCING IN THE CLUTCH: Seven Dons have tallied game-winners this season, led by seven from sophomore forward Aaron Chandler. Sophomore defender Kevin Long tallied two including a memorable one against Santa Clara. Freshman forward Jordan Keyes, senior forward Alfred Bedrossian, junior forward Luke Holmes, junior midfielder David Martin and junior defender Luis Aguilar have all recorded a decisive scoring strike.
GOING THE DISTANCE: Five Dons have played in every match this season - sophomore forward Aaron Chandler, freshman forward Brandon McDonald, freshman forward Jordan Keyes, sophomore defender Kevin Long and sophomore midfielder Matt Languis.
THREE DONS ALL-TOURNAMENT: USF placed three players on the 2004 Santa Clara Invitational all-tournament team. Junior defender Luis Aguilar, sophomore forward Aaron Chandler and senior defender Chris Schwarze.
JOINING ELITE COMPANY: Sophomore forward Aaron Chandler won West Coast Conference Player of the Year honors and is the first Don to do so since two-time First Team All-American Staale Soebye captured back-to-back awards in 1993-94. Chandler and Soebye are the only Dons to be named player of the year since the award was instituted in 1988.
HOME SWEET HOME: Since FieldTurf was installed at Negoesco Stadium for the 2003 season, USF has posted a 12-5-2 record on their home pitch, including a sparkling 7-1-1 mark in 2004.
DIADORA CLASSIC: USF posted a runner-up showing in the 2004 diadora Classic in the 22nd running of the event. USF won both their matches with a 2-1 victory against UC Davis (9/2) in the opener and a convincing 3-1 win against UMass (9/4) in the finale. Santa Clara took the title after posting a 2-0 record and owned the tie-breaker on goals scored. USF improved their all-time record in the tournament to 28-13-3, since the inaugural event in 1983.