Follow San Francisco Men's Soccer: FACEBOOK | TWITTER
 
TICKETS | 2014 SCHEDULE | 2014 ROSTER | GAME NOTES
 
Match No. 14
San Francisco Dons (8-3-2, 2-0-0 WCC) vs. Stanford Cardinal (8-2-2, 2-1-2 Pac-12)
Friday, October 24, 2014 • 7 p.m.
Negoesco Stadium • San Francisco, Calif.
All-time record vs. Stanford: 27-12-7
Last meeting: Stanford 1-2 (October 25, 2013)
Live Stream: TheW.tv
Live Stats: USFStats.com
 
SAN FRANCISCO—The Dons swept their first weekend of West Coast Conference play and now have a chance to catch the nation's attention when they take on No. 11 Stanford on Friday night at Negoesco Stadium.
 
It will be San Francisco's third match against a ranked team this season, with the Dons getting one-goal wins in the previous two games (No. 21 Wisconsin, No. 24 Florida Gulf Coast).
 
STANFORD COMES TO TOWN
At 8-3-2, the Dons have positioned themselves well to potentially earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2008. Getting a win over Stanford, who reached the NCAA Tournament last season, would help that goal immensely. The Dons are 27-12-7 all-time against the Cardinal but have lost the last two meetings.
 
INTRODUCING AARON LOMBARDI
After missing much of the first portion of the season due to injury, freshman Aaron Lombardi started both matches over the weekend and made his presence felt. He nearly scored on Friday against Portland with two shots, including one on goal, and finally broke through on Sunday by scoring twice, including the game-winner in double overtime, to give the Dons a 2-1 win over Gonzaga.
 
DEFENSE ON LOCKDOWN
San Francisco has recorded five shutouts and has held opponents to one goal on five other occasions. The back line of Joshua Smith, Manny Padilla, David Romney and goalkeeper Chase Hauser has been in the center of it. The Dons have an 0.88 goals against average, which is the 47th best in the nation and second in the WCC. The team has also recorded shutouts in 38 percent of their matches, good for 50th in the nation.
 
NEAR TOPS IN WCC
A number of Dons are near, if not at, the top of several WCC statistical categories. Chase Hauser is second in the WCC with an 0.88 GAA and is third with a .782 save percentage. Danny Kirkland and Miguel Aguilar are tied for sixth in the conference in goals with four, three behind league leader Tristan Blackmon (Pacific). David Romney is tied for fourth in the conference with four assists, one behind the leaders Michael Semenza (Saint Mary's), Sebastian De Rada (Loyola Marymount) and Alvaro Madrigal (Loyola Marymount).
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Dons swept the weekend matches against Portland and Gonzaga to kick off the WCC season. Danny Kirkland scored on a penalty kick in the second half to give USF the 3-2 win over Portland and Aaron Lombardi scored twice, including the double overtime winner, to give them the 2-1 win over Gonzaga. It is the first time in three years that the Dons have begun WCC play 2-0.
 
FIRST IN THE WCC
The Dons' wins over Portland and Gonzaga have put them in a first place tie with San Diego at 2-0-0 in conference play. There are no conference games this weekend and when San Francisco returns to WCC play next week, it will have five remaining WCC matches with three of the five being on the road.
 
CLIMBING IN THE RPI
The Dons have quickly moved up the RPI ranks and began last week at 67 and the sweep of Portland and Gonzaga has bumped the team up to 56, second in the WCC behind Loyola Marymount. The WCC has three teams within the top 60 in RPI.
 
TAKING DOWN THE TOP 25
The Dons have posted wins over No. 21 Wisconsin to open the season and beat No. 24 Florida Gulf Coast on Friday night. The two wins over Top 25 teams marks the first time the program has accomplished the feat since 2011 when they beat No. 18 Santa Clara and No. 25 Portland in consecutive matches. The match against Stanford will be the Dons' third match against a ranked opponent.
 
GROUNDING THE EAGLES
The Dons welcomed in No. 24 Florida Gulf Coast for the team's home opener on Friday night and controlled much of the match, wearing the Eagles down. Following an FGCU red card, the Dons finally scored on a 72nd minute penalty kick by Danny Kirkland to give them a 1-0 lead. It was his second game-winner of the season and gave the Dons their second win over a Top 25 team.
 
TAMING THE BADGERS
The Dons got a first half goal from newcomer Davi Ramos and another goal from Danny Kirkland to take a 2-0 lead against No. 21 Wisconsin. The Badgers scored in the 81st minute but that is as close as they would get. It was the first time since 2007 the Dons had defeated a ranked opponent (2-1 vs. No. 11 California) and is the first time since 2008 they had beaten a Big Ten opponent.
 
SUMMER WITH MLS SQUADS
Miguel Aguilar was among a group of Dons who participated with various MLS developmental teams this summer. Aguilar spent the summer with the Portland Timbers developmental academy and played in eight games, recording a goal and an assist. Danny Kirkland and Joshua Smith were with the San Jose Earthquakes academy and gained valuable experience to bring back to the Dons this season.
 
ABOUT STANFORD
The Cardinal finished fourth in the Pac-12 a year ago, reached the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament and appear to be even better this year. Stanford won six straight from Aug. 31 to Oct. 2, including a win over No. 11 Delaware. The Cardinal played to a 1-1 draw against No. 14 California on Monday, whom the Dons beat in regulation during a preseason scrimmage.