Men's Soccer Tackles SCU Jinx
11/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 4, 2004
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Fri., Nov. 5 - at Santa Clara, 7 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 12 - at Saint Mary's, 3 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 14 - at San Francisco, 1 p.m.
BULLDOGS FINISH ON ROAD: Gonzaga University travels to 15th-ranked Santa Clara University on Friday for the first of three road matches to end the 2004 campaign. Gonzaga will be at Saint Mary's College next Friday and then finish the season on Sunday, Nov. 14, at the University of San Francisco.
THE FIRST MEETING: In the first meeting between Gonzaga University and Santa Clara University on Oct. 10 in Spokane, the Broncos, ranked fourth at the time, escaped with a 1-0 victory. SCU scored in the 57th minute. The Broncos outshot Gonzaga 16-7 and Bulldog keeper Sean Sosnovec had nine saves to keep the Bulldogs in the match.
RANKED FOES: Friday's match at 15th-ranked Santa Clara University will be the fifth match against a ranked opponent for Gonzaga University this season. The Broncos were ranked fourth when the teams met the first time in Spokane. Gonzaga is 1-3 against ranked teams this year, the lone win a 1-0 verdict last Friday against No. 22 Loyola Marymount University. George Josten scored the lone goal and Arni Pjetursson had the assist.
STREAK ENDS: Gonzaga University did something last Sunday against the University of San Diego the Bulldogs hadn't done all season - score a goal and lose. The Toreros took a 3-1 victory, the first time in 11 setbacks the Bulldogs had scored a goal. Gonzaga's previous 10 losses had been via shutouts. The Bulldogs were blanked a school-record 12 times in 1987 in a 3-18-0 season. Since joining the West Coast Conference in 1993, the most the Bulldogs have been blanked in a season is nine in 1994, and one of those was a 0-0 deadlock with Loyola Marymount University.
BACK AT FULL STRENGTH: Gonzaga University will be back to full strength this week. Sophomore midfielder/defender John Palladino and sophomore defender Daniel Scott will return to action. Palladino sat out both matches last weekend while serving a two-game suspension for a second red card this season issued against the University of Portland. Scott was forced to the sidelines for last Sunday's match against the University of San Diego after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season last Friday against Loyola Marymount University. Five yellow cards carry an automatic one-match suspension.
ARNI SCORES: Senior forward Arni Pjetursson ended his home career last weekend with a goal and an assists. He assisted on George Josten's goal in Friday's 1-0 win over Loyola Marymount University, then scored a goal Sunday against the University of San Diego that drew the Bulldogs into a 1-1 tie in a 3-1 USD victory. He now has five goals and three assists this season for a team-leading 13 points. His 15 career goals rank seventh in Gonzaga history, his 13 career assists tie him for fourth with Scott Yuska (2000-03) and his 43 career points are fifth all time.
SCORING RACE: Senior Arni Pjetursson and freshman George Josten are in a tight battle for the Gonzaga University scoring title this year. Pjetursson has five goals and three assists for 13 points while Josten has five goals and one assist for 11 points.
THE SERIES: Gonzaga University trails its series with Santa Clara University 7-4-1 including this year's 1-0 SCU victory in the first meeting Oct. 10 in Spokane. SCU's win earlier this year halted a streak of alternating wins that began with a 3-0 Gonzaga win in 1996. It was just the second time in the series a team has put together back-to-back victories, the Broncos turning the trick in the first two meetings in 1993 and '94. SCU's win in Spokane was just the second victory by a road team, SCU taking a 1-0 win in Spokane in 1994. Gonzaga is 0-5-1 at Buck Shaw Stadium on the SCU campus.
THREE-TEAM RACE: The West Coast Conference title chase has turned into a three-team race with Loyola Marymount University (22 points), the University of San Francisco (18) and Santa Clara University (15) still in the hunt. LMU has three matches remaining while SCU and USF have four. Both SCU and USF will play Gonzaga University, which handed LMU its lone WCC loss of the season with a 1-0 win last Friday in Spokane. LMU ends the season at SCU.
ON THE INTERNET: All Gonzaga University home matches and several road matches can be followed in real time on the Internet via Gametracker. Go to the Gonzaga web site at http://www.gozags.com and look for the Gametracker link in the Upcoming Events listing. Click on the link and follow the Bulldogs up to the minute. Gametracker is a service of College Sports Online, official athletic website provider for Gonzaga.
THE THORARINSSON TALE OF THE TAPE: Gonzaga University head coach Einar Thorarinsson is 85-75-10 in his 10th season with the Bulldogs. His overall record is 204-127-23 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 eight 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.
