1965 West Coast Intercollegiate Soccer Conference Champions

Head Coach: Steve Negoesco
Overall Record: 8-1-1    WCISC Record: 7-0-1
All-WCISC Team: Henry Lopez-Contreras, Sandor Hites
Most Goals: Henry Lopez-Contrereas (13)     
USF Hall-of-Famers: Sandor Hites, Luis Sagastume, Steve Negoesco

The 1965 Dons opened play in their new home field Balboa Stadium against the defending West Coast Intercollegiate Soccer Conference champion San Jose State. Although hampered by pre-season injuries Coach Steve Negoesco’s charges were a confident and talented team. The two teams played to a hard-fought 1-1 tie, and the game showed the Spartans and the rest of the WCISC that the 1965 Dons were for real.

The Dons followed the win over San Jose State with an eight game winning streak, including a two game sweep of California 4-0 and 3-0, two wins over Stanford 5-1 and 4-0, and a 1-0 win over San Jose State that helped the Dons close in on the WCISC title. The Dons clinched the title with a 6-1 win over San Francisco State in late October.

In the NCAA West Regional played at soggy Balboa Stadium, the Dons faced a big, physical Air Force squad. With the game tied 2-2 in the late going Sandor Hites put in the game winner and the Dons advanced to play St. Louis in the quarterfinals. However, in the win over Air Force three USF starters had been injured, and with those players missing, St. Louis easily handled USF 5-2 in the quarterfinals.

Henry Lopez-Contreras topped the team with 13 goals, and Hites added six tallies. Both players were named to the All-Conference first team.

Did You Know? The Dons faced St. Louis in the NCAA quarterfinals undermanned. The Dons leading scorer Henry Lopez-Contreras was unable to play due to injury, and two other starters also sat out – Eduardo Rangell and Manuel Suffle. The physical battle with Air Force had taken its toll on the USF squad, as the Dons took on the mighty Billikens with a depleted roster. St. Louis won 5-2 over USF in route to its third NCAA title in four years.

They Said It: “That Air Force match was tough on our guys,” noted team Captain Ric Olivas. “We would have had a better chance to beat St. Louis, if it weren’t for all the injured guys we had over on the bench.”