University of San Francisco Athletics

*Not Pictured: Rudy Dekkers, Istvan Pribilovics

1966 NCAA National Champions

1966 West Coast Intercollegiate Soccer Conference Champions

Head Coach: Steve Negoesco
Overall Record: 12-0-1    WCISC Record: 4-0-0
All-WCISC Team: George Fernandez, Mike Ivanow, Eduardo Rangel
Most Goals: Eduardo Rangel (21)    Goalie: Mike Ivanow 
USF Hall-of-Famers: Luis Sagastume, Mike Ivanow, Eduardo Rangel, Lothar Osiander, Sandor Hites, Steve Negoesco

The Dons under head coach Steve Negoesco made the NCAA national semifinals for the first time since the tournament started in 1959. Michigan State, Army and Long Island all completed in the soccer Final Four held at Berkeley on a muddy morass.

Negoesco and his Dons met Army in the national semifinals at wet and foggy Memorial Stadium. The field was a mess, forcing many of the West Point booters shot attempts to sail off target. Negoesco and his talented Dons, who played their two previous games in the mud, were better prepared. The Dons dominated in the swamp like conditions, to defeat Army as second half goals by Luis Sagastume and Sandor Hites gave USF the victory. Olympian Mike Ivanow recorded the shutout at goalie.

The following day USF faced Long Island University which had scored a surprising 6-5 win over Michigan State in the semifinals. Led by Hites outstanding effort, the Dons scored a championship game record five goals en route to a 5-2 win over LIU and USF’s first NCAA title. Hites accounted for three of the five goals and was named the tournament’s outstanding player. It was the first of four NCAA crowns under Negoesco, as the Hilltoppers finished the season at 12-0-1.  

Quite a bit was written about the Dons International connections as a Sports Illustrated article about the championship game was titled "USF Wins One for the U.N.” referencing the seven Dons players born in Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Indonesia, Poland and Russia along with their Romanian coach. However, every USF player except for one player from Seattle lived year-round in San Francisco.

The 1966 Dons outscored their opponents 54-13 with five shutouts. Their defense was so dominant that during one 10-game stretch they allowed only five total goals.   

Where Are They Now
Al Aramendia - Real estate sales and leasing specialist
Kevin Carey - Sales representative with the California State Automobile Association; lives in San Bruno, Calif.
Henry Lopez-Contreras - Professor of Latin Studies at California State University, Stanislaus
Rudy Dekkers – Unknown
Jorge Fernandez - Owner, Ideal Auto Repair in San Francisco
Sam Gerzowski - Worked for a number of banks, including Wells Fargo, The Riggs National Bank of Washington D.C., Far West Federal S&L, U.S. Bank and finished with Pendum, an armored car company; lives in Portland, Ore.
Sandor Hites – Dentist in Berkeley, Calif. inducted into the USF Athletics Hall of Fame in 1983.  
Mike Ivanow – Played with the U.S. in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games before enjoying an 11-year pro career that included eight seasons in the North American Soccer League and three in the Major Indoor Soccer League. After his playing career, he got into the car sales industry. Inducted into the USF Athletics Hall of Fame in 1983.   
Jerry Katzeff – Retired after a 35-year career as a research engineer for Lockheed Missiles and Space Company.
Mike Laurel – Retired after a 38-year career teaching economics and social sciences in Cupertino, Calif.  
Terry MacRenato – Served seven years in Vietnam with the U.S. Marine's ultra-elite 3 Force Recon Company before eventually earning a master's in history and a Ph.D. in Latin American history. Retired from the San Diego Community College system after teaching history, political science and Chicano studies at San Diego City College.
Lothar Osiander - Spent a three-year stint as the head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team from 1986-1988. Inducted into the USF Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.
Pat Pressentin – Became an attorney in Seattle and has been very involved as a member of the USF Alumni Board of Directors.
Istvan Pribilovics - Unknown
Eduardo Rangel - Lives in North Carolina and is among the inductees into this year's USF Athletics Hall of Fame class.
Gary Royce - Became an attorney.
Luis Sagastume – Coached soccer at the high school and collegiate level, including two years at San Francisco State (1978-79) before going on to a 28-year career at the Air Force Academy, where he retired in 2009 with a career record of 303-196-43.  
Manny Suffle - Became a physician.
Al Tsacle – Worked as an associate engineer at Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. for five years with teammate Jerry Katzeff. Spent a year at Hewlett-Packard and then entered academia as a professor with California State University before retiring from California State University in 2015 as Emeritus Professor of Computer Information Systems.