University of San Francisco Athletics

Friday's game

Opponent: Stanford (6-4-2, 1-3-1 Pac-12)

Location: Palo Alto, Calif.

Time: 7 p.m.

Coverage: Live Stats, Game Notes

 
 
SAN FRANCISCO—The Dons seem to have turned a corner. After being unable to get a win in its first three West Coast Conference matches at home, San Francisco rebounded in three contests on the road where they were able to get two wins to wrap up the first half of league play.
 
San Francisco (5-6-2, 2-3-1 WCC) trails first-place Loyola Marymount by six points but knows it still has plenty of time to make up for lost time. The Dons will get a quick breather from league play this week when they play their final nonconference match of the season at Stanford on Friday night.
 
SWITCH IN GOAL WORKING OUT
Following the team's 4-1 loss to Saint Mary's, the Dons made a switch in goal from Chase Hauser to Connor Gaal in the hope he could bring energy to the defense and it paid immediate dividends. San Francisco has two shutouts in its last three games and has allowed only one goal over that stretch.
 
In his six starts, Gaal has allowed three goals and has recorded three shutouts.
 
This is not to say Chase Hauser is out of a job. The junior started the first three conference games for the Dons and faced a flurry of shots. Hauser is still first in the WCC and 21st in the nation in saves per game. Head coach Erik Visser said he will remain in the mix.
 
As a team, San Francisco is second in the conference and 52nd in the nation in shutout percentage (0.38), trailing only Gonzaga.
 
OFFENSE CASHING IN
The offense has also started to come around. The Dons scored twice against San Diego on Friday night and it was the first time since Sept. 8 that the team scored more than one goal in a game. They took 12 shots and put seven on goal against the Toreros.
 
They were also not without their chances against Loyola Marymount but were unable to take advantage of the opportunities.
 
Nine players have scored goals for the Dons with Miguel Aguilar, David Garrett, Jesus Del Toro and Danny Kirkland having multiple scores.
 
ABOUT STANFORD (6-4-2, 1-3-1 Pac-12)
The Cardinal were dealt a tough loss at the hands of rival No. 1 Cal. They matched the Golden Bears shot-for-shot and save-for-save until the 85th minute when off the rebound of a free kick, Cal finally took the lead and the match. This sounds very similar to what happened when the Dons played Cal in early September when they, too, fell 1-0 on a late game goal.
 
Zach Batteer and Jordan Morris have been the main strikers for Stanford and have combined for nine goals on the season.
 
COVERAGE
Live Stats will be available through GoStanford.com.