Box Score
(Spokane, WA) – San Francisco men's soccer wrapped up the 2011 season with a scoreless draw at Gonzaga in a hard-fought West Coast Conference battle Sunday afternoon at the Gonzaga Soccer Stadium. The Dons (6-10-3, 4-6-2 WCC) competed in their third consecutive double-overtime contest and their second straight on the road in the regular season finale against the Bulldogs (4-12-3, 2-8-2 WCC).
Remarkably, it was the eight overtime contest of the 2011 season for San Francisco and the sixth requiring a second session of bonus soccer. Seven of USF's 12 matches went past 90 minutes. The Dons went 2-3-3 in overtime contests in 2011, highlighted by a 2-1 home triumph against No. 25 Portland October 2 at Negoesco Stadium.
"I'm extremely pleased with the young group," USF head coach Erik Visser said. "They were extremely resilient. This team has given us everything it has in every conference game despite some extremely tough losses in the last two weeks. The future is very bright for this team and I am pleased with the way we progressed during the season. This team went into the final week of the WCC regular season with a chance to win a conference championship, which speaks volumes to determination and talent of this group."
San Francisco held a 19-16 shots advantage in the contest and created several legitimate scoring opportunities. Freshman Miguel Aguilar was denied in the 51st minute on a spectacular play by the Bulldogs' keeper and freshman midfielder Danny Kirkland drilled the cross bar on a free kick from 25 yards in the 63rd minute.
Junior goalkeeper Brendan Roslund collected his sixth shutout of the season and made six saves.
USF made strides in 2011 with a very inexperienced, young group and the future looks promising. The Dons consistently started at least seven underclassmen and 20 of San Francisco's 22 goals this season were recorded by freshmen or sophomores.
After posting a 2-8-2 league slate last season, the Dons rebounded and nearly doubled their point tally with 14 this year. More significantly, a season removed from allowing 20 goals, San Francisco allowed 12 and scored 14 against WCC foes.
