Men's Soccer Hosts LMU , USD In WCC Home Openers
10/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Men's Soccer Match Facts
Friday, October 7 - vs. Loyola Marymount University, 3 p.m.
Sunday, October 9 - vs. University of San Diego, 1 p.m.
ALL TIMES PACIFIC TIME ZONE
BULLDOGS IN WCC HOME OPENERS: Gonzaga University's men's soccer team returns home for its West Coast Conference home openers this week when Loyola Marymount University visits Friday at 3 p.m. followed by the University of San Diego at 1 p.m. Sunday.
ALUMNI WEEKEND: It's Alumni Weekend for Gonzaga University's men's soccer team. More than 30 former players and their families are due back on campus for festivities this weekend. Two Bulldog alumni won't have far to go as assistant coaches John Palladino and Vito Higgins help welcome back alums and, in some cases, former teammates.
HOME OPENER VERSUS LMU: Gonzaga University is 2-2-0 in West Coast Conference home openers with Loyola Marymount University, Friday's foe for this year's WCC home opener. Gonzaga last opened its WCC home season against LMU in 2009, defeating the Lions 2-1. The Zags also downed LMU in their 2007 WCC home opener 3-1. LMU won contests in 2005 and 2007 by identical 2-1 counts to ruin Gonzaga's WCC home openers.
LAST WEEK: Gonzaga University will be looking to crack the West Coast Conference win column this weekend after dropping their WCC openers last weekend in the Bay Area. The University of San Francisco topped the Zags 1-0 in overtime last Friday, followed by Santa Clara University claiming a 2-0 victory Sunday. Gonzaga has dropped 11 straight WCC road contests.
INJURY REPORT: Gonzaga University received some bad news this week when it was learned sophomore defender Andrew Owenson will be sidelined the remainder of the season with a broken foot. Owenson was injured in Sunday's match at Santa Clara University. The Zags will once again be without the services of sophomore midfielder Justin Hill this weekend. He has been sidelined since being injured in the Seattle University match Sept. 14. Nico Sanchez remains sidelined with a leg injury.
UPSIDE DOWN: The West Coast Conference standings look a little upside down based on the preseason vote of the coaches, who picked Loyola Marymount University to win the conference with the University of San Francisco tied for sixth with Gonzaga University. But USF sits atop the standings at 3-0-0 while LMU sits on the bottom of the conference winless at 0-2-0. Gonzaga and the University of Portland are also 0-2-0, so, barring a tie, either Gonzaga or LMU will pick up its initial WCC win Friday in Spokane.
BULLDOGS VS. LIONS: Gonzaga University dropped both matches against Loyola Marymount University last year, the Lions winning the West Coast Conference opener 3-1 at LMU and taking the re-match in Spokane 3-2. The Lions scored two second-half goals in the first meeting after the Zags had tied the contest 1-1 early in the second half. In the match at Gonzaga, the Bulldogs built a 2-0 lead, held a 2-1 halftime advantage and once again the Lions came up with two second-half goals for the victory. The Lions lead the overall series 13-12-1 and have won three straight.
BULLDOGS VS. TOREROS: The University of San Diego took a pair of 2-1 decisions over Gonzaga University last year. The Toreros scored a pair of second-half goals in the first meeting in San Diego to erase a 1-0 Gonzaga lead. In the return meeting in Spokane the Toreros converted a penalty kick with 10 seconds remaining in regulation to snap a 1-1 tie. The last Gonzaga victory over USD was a 4-1 verdict in the second meeting in 2008 at home. The Toreros lead the overall series 17-5-1 and have won four straight and nine of the last 10 against the Zags.
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.
MATERN PRE-SEASON ALL-WCC: Gonzaga University redshirt sophomore midfielder James Matern didn't play a minute for the Bulldogs last soccer season, but the West Coast Conference coaches showed the respect they have for him as he was selected to the All-WCC Preseason team as selected by the conference's seven coaches. Matern had hip surgery in October, 2010. He was bothered by the hip throughout fall camp and made the decision to have the surgery. He has come back to be a strong force for the Bulldogs this season.
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 131-140-26 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.
