SAN FRANCISCO -- The USF men's soccer team wasted little time in taking control of the match before using three second-half goals to shutout the visiting Pacific Tigers 3-0 on Friday night at Negoesco Stadium. The Dons (4-9-0, 2-0-0) stepped on the gas right from the beginning, outshooting Pacific 12-4 in the first half and 20-6 overall, while David Garrett, Aaron Lombardi and Jonathan Fabulich each tallied scores on the night. 

The three goals were the most the Dons have scored in a match since a 5-1 win over La Salle on Sept. 6. 

"I thought we were really good between our lines," commented head coach Eddie Soto after the match. "The guys were really motivated to have a good start and carry it throughout the first half. We dictated the play and created many chances, and their goalkeeper did well to keep the clean sheet in the first half. So there were a lot of positives going into halftime and we just carried that same moment into the second half."

Despite controlling the possession in their attacking third for most of the first half, the Dons didn't come away with a goal in the opening frame, but they were certainly not short on chances. The best of which came in the 25th minute, when Lombardi sent a cross into the box from the left wing that found Davi Ramos with a brief window in front of the net, but Ramos' firm header went right into the hands of Pacific keeper Josh Adachi. 

Coming out of the half, Garrett put the Dons on the board with the first goal of the contest in the 51st minute and registered his team-leading fourth score of the year in the process. Lombardi and Kamron Crow teamed for a nifty give-and-go on the far left wing that gave Lombardi space to dribble down near the end line and deliver a strike inside the six-yard box where Garrett was waiting unattended right in front of the net for a header that he redirected into the far post to put the Dons up 1-0. 

"With Kam recently, our chemistry has been good," said Lombardi, "we're understanding each other and I told him to hold it, he saw me run behind him and slipped that little pass, and I saw David and got the cross in and he was there like he was supposed to and got a great goal."
    
In the 71st minute, Lombardi took a free kick following a Pacific foul from about 40 yards out on the right wing and arched what was most likely intended to be a pass right over Adachi's head into the net for his third goal of the season. 

"As soon as I hit it, I saw it go high and there was a wind and I knew it was going to go in," explained Lombardi, "because I saw the goalie off his line. But I honestly didn't mean to shoot it; from here you usually just try and get the ball in so someone can head it, but luckily it went in and I was pretty excited about it."
USF added a bit of insurance in the 83rd minute when Fabulich came off the bench to tally his first goal of the season. Fabulich received a looping pass from Kevin De La Torre on the far left wing and ripped a firm shot that bounded through a gap in the defense and inside the far post to give the Dons their final 3-0 advantage.    

"For the way we want to play, it takes time," added Soto on his team's controlled possessions throughout the match. "Throughout the season we've seen spurts of it. We see moments where we see the guys doing what we want and it's nice to see that we're going into a little bit of a stride in conference where it's starting to click. It all starts with good, hard, honest defending and a good team attack."  

USF held a 6-1 edge in corner kicks on the night. 

Davi Ramos led the Dons with five shots overall, two of which were on goal, while Garrett fired off four shots, one on goal, and Lombardi and Bryce Kaminski each recorded three shots apiece. Altogether, seven of the Dons' 20 shots were on frame, while Pacific (1-11-0, 0-2-0) did not register a shot on goal. 

USF improves to 2-0-0 in WCC play for the first time since the 2011 campaign when the Dons topped Gonzaga and Portland in back-to-back contests to open the conference slate. 

The Dons move on to face Saint Mary's on Sunday in WCC action at Negoesco Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m.