First Road Trip Of Season Awaits Men's Soccer
9/1/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Men's Soccer Match Facts
Friday, September 2 - at UC Irvine, 8 p.m.
USD Nike Soccer Classic @ San Diego, CA
Sunday, September 4 - vs. Long Island University, Noon
ALL TIMES PACIFIC TIME ZONE
BULLDOGS HIT THE ROAD: Gonzaga University hits the road for the first time in the young season this weekend. Gonzaga will be at UC Irvine for Friday Night Lights as the teams kick off at 8 p.m. PDT. Sunday Gonzaga heads to San Diego, Calif., to faces Long Island University at noon as part of the USD Nike Soccer Classic hosted by the University of San Diego. It's the lone match Gonzaga will play in the tournament.
HUSKIES WIN DOGFIGHT: The University of Washington maintained its stronghold in the series with Gonzaga University, downing the Bulldogs 3-0 last Saturday at Gonzaga Soccer Field in the season opener for both teams. The Huskies now lead the overall series 22-1-1, the lone win for the Bulldogs coming in 2007 with a 2-1 home victory.
TOO MANY GIVEAWAYS: Gonzaga University and the University of Washington were scoreless in the 65th minute when the wheels started to come off for the Bulldogs. A pair of penalty kicks within a span of 10 minutes saw the Bulldogs fall behind with 15 minutes to play. The Huskies got a meaningless goal in the 84th minute to complete the scoring. The Bulldogs went away from the game plan. "Our game plan coming in was to not give the ball away," head coach Einar Thorarinsson said. "We went south (today)," Thorarinsson said. "We gave the ball away in areas you just can't give it up in."
HOME, SWEET HOME: Fans won't get another home glimpse at Gonzaga University until Sept. 17 when Oregon State University visits. Following this weekend's matches at UC Irvine Friday and Sunday against Long Island University in San Diego, Calif., Gonzaga will have another road match Sept. 14 at Seattle University prior to returning home to face the Beavers.
COLLEGIATE DEBUTS: Two freshmen - Zach Hamer and Nathanael Pacheco - were in the Gonzaga University starting line-up last Saturday, and two other freshmen - Clark Phillips and Taylor Jackson - came off the bench for their collegiate debuts.
SMALL SENIOR CLASS: Only two seniors - forwards Colin Flynn and Mitchell Weller - dot the Gonzaga University roster this season. Flynn led the Bulldogs in scoring last season with 4 goals and an assist for 9 points. Weller contributed a goal and an assist. Both were in a reserve role in the season opener as they were nursing minor training camp injuries.
NEWEST ZAGS: Gonzaga University head coach Einar Thorarinsson has added six newcomers this season. Freshmen Chris Lowrimore (GK, Sandy, Utah), Zach Hamer (MF, Spokane, Wash.), Nathanael Pacheco (F, Albuquerque, NM), Clark Phillips (F, Portland, Ore.) are joined by Cal Poly transfer Justin Hill (MF, Boise, Idaho). Hamer is the brother of sophomore midfielder Nick Hamer, both products of Spokane's Mead High. Hill played in 15 matches with three starts for the Mustangs last season, picking up one goal and an assist.
BULLDOGS VS. ANTEATERS: Gonzaga University will be trying to snap a 5-match losing streak to UC Irvine when the two meet under the lights Friday at 8 p.m. at UC Irvine. The Anteaters downed Gonzaga 4-0 in last year's season opener. Prior to last season the teams played in 2007 with the Anteaters taking a 1-0 home victory. All five meetings in the current streak have taken place at UC Irvine, the Anteaters taking three straight 1-0 contests and a 1998 contest going to UC Irvine by a 2-0 count in the four previous meetings to last season. Gonzaga's two wins in the series, which UC Irvine leads 7-2, were 3-0 victories in 1995 and 1997.
SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE: There will be no nursery rhyme Sunday when Gonzaga University faces the Blackbirds of Long Island University in the USD Nike Soccer Classic at the University of San Diego Tournament. The Blackbirds, whose Brooklyn campus is located in heart of downtown Brooklyn and just minutes from Manhattan, will play their regular-season opener Friday against the University of San Diego prior to facing Gonzaga Sunday. This will be the inaugural meeting between the Bulldogs and Blackbirds. LIU plays in the Northeast Conference, going 7-10-1 overall last season and 4-5-1 for sixth place in conference action.
LOOKING FOR A "W": Gonzaga University saw its losing streak reach eight matches with the season-opening setback to the University of Washington. The Bulldogs dropped their final seven matches last season, a 3-1 home win over the University of San Francisco Oct. 15, 2010, the last taste of victory for the Zags.
GIVE HIM A RED SHIRT: While Ryan Caballero has the starting keeper spot wrapped up in the early going, Gonzaga University coach Einar Thorarinsson is hopeful he can redshirt true freshman Chris Lowrimore this season. Lowrimore, from Sandy, Utah, and redshirt junior Jeff Renslo are the other two healthy keepers on the roster behind Caballero.
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 129-136-25 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 visit the web at http://www.gozags.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=627480&SPID=90833&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=26400&ATCLID=205176300&Q_SEASON=2011.
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 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.
