Men's Soccer Home Wednesday To Face Portland
10/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Men's Soccer Match Facts
Wednesday, October 12 - vs. University of Portland, 3 p.m.
Friday, October 14 - at Saint Mary's College, 1 p.m.
ALL TIMES PACIFIC TIME ZONE
BULLDOGS END HOMESTAND: Gonzaga University's men's soccer three-game homestand ends in a rare mid-week match Wednesday when the University of Portland visits Gonzaga Soccer Field at 3 p.m. It will be the final home match until Oct. 30 when Saint Mary's College visits.
BACK IN THE HUNT: What a difference a week makes. Gonzaga University cracked the West Coast Conference win column in a big way this past weekend, working overtime to pick up a pair of victories. The Bulldogs down pre-season WCC favorite Loyola Marymount 3-2 in overtime last Friday, then came from a 2-0 deficit to stun the University of San Diego 3-2 in double-overtime Sunday. GU is tied for fourth with Santa Clara University.
COMEBACK VS. LMU: Gonzaga University got on the scoreboard early against Loyola Marymount University, Greg Carter's goal at 1:51 giving the Zags the early lead and snapping their scoreless string at 300:19. But the Lions came back with two goals in a 15-minute span early in the second half to take the lead. The Bulldogs tied the match on an own goal at 76:03, then sophomore Josh Phillips scored his first goal of the season on an assist from Clark Phillips at 94:14 for the victory.
COMEBACK VS. USD: Gonzaga University fell behind 2-0 when the University of San Diego scored goals late in the first half and early in the second half. But Clark Phillips took tings into his own hands, the freshman forward scoring his first collegiate goal at 77:07 off an assist from Zach Hamer. But Phillips wasn't done, grabbing the rebound off a blocked shot by Greg Carter, dribbling and putting the ball into the net to tie the match at 81:41. Phillips, who had the assist on the match-winning goal Friday, started the Bulldogs decisive rush in the second OT. He dribbled down the right flank dodging one defender, kept the ball alive fighting through a double-team and got the ball to Alec Cutter deep on the right side. Cutter sent a cross to a wide open Nathanael Pacheco who did a behind-the-back no-look heel touch to score the goal at 101:25 and give Gonzaga the 3-2 victory.
BACK-TO-BACK OT WINS: Last weekend was the first time Gonzaga University's men's soccer history the Zags had posted overtime victories in consecutive matches. The Bulldogs have won two straight overtime matches before, but never in consecutive contests.
INJURY REPORT: Gonzaga University sophomore defender Andrew Owenson will be sidelined the remainder of the season with a broken foot. Taylor Jackson, who suffered an arm injury last Friday against Loyola Marymount University, sat out Sunday's match but is available for action. Justin Hill remains out of action since being injured Sept. 14.
BULLDOGS VS. PILOTS: Gonzaga University dropped both matches a year ago to the University of Portland, 2-0 at Gonzaga and 2-1 in the re-match in Portland. The match was the home opener for Gonzaga after playing its first seven matches away from Gonzaga Soccer Field. The Bulldogs are now 3-3-4 in the last 10 meetings against the Pilots. Portland brings a three-match winning streak into Wednesday's match, the teams tieing 2-2 in double overtime at Gonzaga in 2009. The last Bulldog win in the series was a 2-1 verdict at Portland in the first meeting of the 2008 season. Portland still leads the overall series 21-9-4 dating back to 1981. Since Gonzaga joined the West Coast Conference in 1993 the Pilots hold a 13-9-4 edge in the series.
BULLDOGS VS. GAELS: Gonzaga University will be looking to find its winning ways against Saint Mary's College Friday as the Gaels captured both matches a year ago. Saint Mary's won the first meeting last season in Spokane, 1-0, on a goal in the 88th minute, then claimed a 2-1 home victory in Moraga, Calif. Gonzaga has won just once in the last seven meetings with SMC, that a 5-0 home whitewashing in 2009 after the Gaels had taken the first meeting at home 2-0. Gonzaga is 1-4-2 in the last seven outings but won four straight prior to the recent draught. The all-time series is knotted at 11-11-3.
COACHING MILESTONE: Gonzaga University head coach Einar Thorarinsson coached his 300th match as a Zag last Sunday in a 3-2 double-overtime victory over the University of San Diego. Thorarinsson joined the Bulldogs in 1995, his first victory a 3-0 home win over UC Irvine.
PRE-SEASON POLL: Loyola Marymount University, which tied for the West Coast Conference regular-season crown a year ago, was the unanimous choice of the WCC coaches - coaches could not vote for their own team - to win the title this season in a preseason vote of the seven conference coaches. Gonzaga University and the University of San Francisco were picked to finish tied for sixth, both schools receiving 9 points in the pre-season balloting, well behind the 19 points fifth-place Saint Mary's College collected. The University of San Diego tallied 27 points to finish second, just one point ahead of 2010 NCAA participant Santa Clara University. The Broncos earned the WCC's automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship based on a 1-0-1 head-to-head record last season against the Lions. The University of Portland captured 21 points in the coaches' poll to finish fourth.
THE THORARINSSON FILE: Einar Thorarinsson is in his 17th season at Gonzaga University. He has taken the Bulldogs to two NCAA Tournaments, the first in 2001 and the last in 2007. Thorarinsson is the winningest coach in Bulldog men's soccer history with a 134-140-26 record. He earned his third WCC Coach of the Year honor in 2005, and won his 100th Gonzaga match in 2006. For Thorarinsson's complete biography click here.
ON THE WEB: All Gonzaga University home matches and selected road contests will be available on video through the Zags Sports Channel online subscription available by at http://www.gozags.com. Live Stats will be available free of charge for all home matches and selected road contests through the Gonzaga website.
