Gonzaga Men's Soccer Opens WCC Play
10/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 1, 2003
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West Coast Conference Release in PDF Format
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Saturday, Oct. 4 - Portland, 1 p.m.
BULLDOGS OPEN WCC PLAY: Gonzaga University's men's soccer team opens West Coast Conference play Saturday when Northwest rival University of Portland visits Martin Field for a 1 p.m. contest. The Bulldogs will be trying to snap a two-match losing streak against the Pilots, who have taken 1-0 victories each of the last two meetings including last year's match in Portland. In fact, the last three matches have ended in 1-0 verdicts - Portland taking a 1-0 win in the first round of the 2001 College Cup in Seattle, Wash., and the Bulldogs capturing a 1-0 verdict in the 2001 regular-season meeting at Gonzaga.
BULLDOGS SECOND AT UNLV: Two goals in the final three minutes against host UNLV gave Gonzaga University a stirring 3-2 win over the host Rebels in the UNLV/FILA Classic on Sunday. The Bulldogs finished 1-0-1 in the tourney after a 1-1 tie with the University of New Mexico on Friday. The Iceland connection of Kari Arnason and Arni Ingi Pjetursson combined for the Gonzaga goal at 75:25 to draw even with the Lobos on Friday. Pjetursson was pulled down from behind in the box at the 87:12 mark on Sunday and his penalty kick drew the Bulldogs even. Scott Bertram followed 2:02 later with the match winner as Gonzaga came from a 2-0 deficit. The first Bulldog goal came from Scott Yuska at 54:37.
BULLDOGS CLAIM SECOND: Gonzaga University finished second in a tournament for the second straight week, going 1-0-1 in the UNLV/FILA Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. Cal State Northridge won the tourney with a 2-0-0 record. The University of New Mexico went 0-1-1 and the host Rebels went 0-2-0.
BULLDOGS VS. PILOTS: The University of Portland holds a commanding 14-5-0 lead in the series with Gonzaga University, but the Bulldogs are 5-6-0 against Portland since joining the West Coast Conference for the 1993 season. The teams have split 10 WCC regular-season matches with the Bulldogs winning four of the last six regular-season meetings. The teams met in the 2001 College Cup first round played the University of Washington with the Pilots claiming a 1-0 victory. Gonzaga is 3-2 at home against Portland in WCC play.
INAUGURAL WCC WIN AGAINST PORTLAND: The inaugural win for Gonzaga University in West Coast Conference play came against the University of Portland on Oct. 12, 1993, when Gonzaga took a 2-1 home victory in just their third WCC match.
YUSKA ON THE MOVE: Senior Scott Yuska is close to cracking a couple of Gonzaga University career charts. Already tied for fifth in career assists with 11, he needs three goals to move into a tie for seventh on the career list, four assists to tie for ninth and three shots to tie for ninth. Yuska has 11 career goals and 11 career assists for 33 points. Abbas Faridnia is seventh on the career goals list with 14 and the points chart with 37, while Brett Fink is ninth in career shots with 56. For the season, Yuska has a team-leading five goals and one assist for 11 points.
PJETURRSON LEADS TEAM: Junior Arni Ingi Pjetursson leads the team in scoring with four goals and four assists for 12 points despite missing both matches in the Goal Rush Classic at Fresno State University. The native of Reykjavik, Iceland, has nine career assists to tie for ninth with Abbas Faridnia, and his 121 career shots are third on the all-time GU list.
HIGGINS MAKING HIS MARK: Freshman goalkeeper Vito Higgins has posted a 5-2-1 record this season with two shutouts. His two shutouts rank him third on the Gonzaga University career list. He has a long way to go to make it two number two, however. Current Bulldog assistant coach Mike McCarthy is second with 13 and Josh Fouts sits atop the list with 19. Fouts, McCarthy and Higgins all hail from Hawai'i.
PRE-SEASON GUESSES: Gonzaga University will open the season against the team predicted to win the West Coast Conference this year when the University of Portland visits on Saturday. The Pilots garnered two first-place votes and 29 points to edge Santa Clara University and the University of San Diego who tied for second in the pre-season poll of WCC coaches. The Bulldogs were picked sixth.
ICELANDER IS HOT: All eight of Kari Arnason's points have come in the last three matches. The sophomore from Reykjavik, Iceland, had two goals and assist against Sacramento State University, a goal against the University of New Mexico and an assist against UNLV. He's only played in five of Gonzaga's nine matches this season, but his eight points rank fourth on the team.
LIVE ON THE INTERNET: All Gonzaga University home matches as well as all West Coast Conference road matches will be available via Livestats on the Internet at http://www.gozags.com. Some non-conference matches may also be available. Check the Gonzaga web site for all Livestats links.
THE THORARINSSON TALE OF THE TAPE: Gonzaga University head coach Einar Thorarinsson is 78-56-10 in his ninth season with the Bulldogs. His overall record is 197-108-23 that includes nine seasons across town at Whitworth College. After going 3-10-2 in his first season of 1995, the Bulldogs have had winning seasons in six of the last season seasons under Thorarinsson. His teams led the West Coast Conference in wins with a 14-4-0 record in 1997 and 12-4-2 mark in 1998, capturing WCC co-championships in each of those seasons. The Bulldogs were 9-5-2 in 2001, making their inaugural College Cup appearance.
