Men's Soccer | 9/15/2015 11:54:00 AM

SAN FRANCISCO - The Dons look to bounce back after a pair of road losses this past weekend. USF was blanked by UC Riverside 3-0 this past Thursday, before losing to Cal State Fullerton 3-0 on Sunday. In both matches the Dons had some good looks but were unable to convert any into goals. Santiago Digiuseppe fired off five attempts to lead USF against UCR, while Davi Ramos led the Dons' offense with five shots in Sunday's loss.

This weekend will be no walk in the park for the Dons as they'll travel to face a Stanford team coming in ranked No. 4 and a Cal squad that is receiving votes in the NSCAA Top-25.     

Both matches this weekend will have live stats available to follow the action, but no video stream. All multimedia can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate links on the men's soccer schdeule page at USFDons.com. 

GAME NOTES
FIRST OF MANY
Freshmen Sean Bowman and Santiago Digiuseppe each recorded their first-career goals over the Dons' home-opening weekend Sept. 4-6. Bowman scored what would end up being the game winner in the 15th minute against Canisius, while Digiuseppe tallied his score in the 69th minute in the win over La Salle.  

OPEN UP THE FLOOD GATES
The Dons' five goals scored against La Salle on Sept. 6 were the most USF has scored in a single match since a 6-0 win over Sacramento State on Oct. 3, 2003. Aaron Lombardi scored a pair of goals to notch his second-career multi-goal performance (Oct. 19, 2014 vs. Gonzaga), while Davi Ramos enjoyed his first-career multi-goal match with his two goals on the day.  

STEP RIGHT UP
Freshman keeper Andre Glasnovic posted wins in his first two career starts during the Dons' home-opening weekend. Glasnovic stepped in for his first-career start on Sept. 4 and helped the Dons shutout Canisius by making four saves, including a number of point-blank chances that Glasnovic was able to prevent. He followed that up with four more saves in USF's win over La Salle, his only goal allowed coming on a penalty kick in the 38th minute.  

TARGET ON THEIR BACKS
The Dons had the dubious honor of being picked to win the WCC title this season, as voted in the WCC Preseason Poll. USF captured two first-place votes, but was one of five teams to receive first-place votes, along with Saint Mary's (1), San Diego (2), LMU (2) and Santa Clara (1). The Dons finished in a tie with Saint Mary's for second place in the 2014 final standings.  

BLAZING THE TRAIL
Second-year head coach Eddie Soto has no qualms with taking his team on the road to build a strong non-conference schedule in 2015. USF will only enjoy six contests at Negoesco Stadium this year, but will face five NCAA Tournament teams from 2014 (Penn State, Stanford, Cal State Fullerton, San Diego, Cal). The Dons will also travel to face five teams ranked in the NSCAA Preseason Top-25: No. 23 Penn State (Aug. 28), No. 8 Stanford (Sept. 18), No. 16 Cal (Sept. 20), and Cal State Fullerton (Sept. 13) and New Mexico (Sept. 30), who were both receiving votes. 

BLUE CHIPS
Second-year head coach Eddie Soto and his staff made strides in building on last year's second-place WCC finish by going out and piecing together one of the nation's best recruiting classes. The Dons' 2015 class, made up of 12 newcomers (3 transfers/9 freshmen), was ranked No. 41 in the country by College Soccer News over the summer. 

BACK IN THE MIX
After having a total of 10 All-WCC honorees last year, the Dons bring back six All-WCC performers in honorable mention selections Davi Ramos, Joshua Smith, Christian De Luna, Manny Padilla, Aaron Lombardi, and all-freshman selection Bryce Kaminski.   

ABOUT STANFORD
2015 Record: 5-1-0
Key Notes: The Cardinal jumped from No. 13 to No. 4 in this week's NSCAA Top-25...won five straight after suffering a 1-0 loss at UC Santa Barbara in the season opener...defeated San Jose State, 1-0, at home this past Thursday, before beating SMU 3-2 in overtime on the road this past Sunday...outscoring opponents 8-3 so far...hold 41-14 advantage in corner kicks this season...outshooting opponents 89-50...advanced to the second round of 2014 NCAA Tournament.
Top Scorers: Foster Langsdorf (2 goals / 1 assist); Eric Verso (1 goal / 3 assists); Jordan Morris (2 goals)
In Goal: Andrew Epstein (4 starts / 0.49 GAA / 11 saves / 5-1-0 W-L-T / 4 shutouts) 
Head Coach: Jeremy Gunn (4th season)

ABOUT CAL
2015 Record: 3-1-0
Key Notes: The Bears have won three straight following a season-opening upset loss to San Diego...defeated UC Davis 2-1 this past Friday...recieving votes in this week's NSCAA Top-25...advanced to the 3rd round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament...being outshot by opponents 48-44...outscored oppoents 8-5 so far.
Top Scorers: Christian Thierjung (1 goal / 3 assists); Paul Salcedo (2 goals / 2 assists); Jose Carrera-Garcia (1 goal / 2 assists)
In Goal: Alex Mangels (4 starts / 1.25 GAA / 12 saves / 1 shutout)
Head Coach: Kevin Grimes (16th season)

VS. THE PAC-12
The Dons are looking for their first win over a Pac-12 opponent since Sept. 16, 2007 when USF defeated Stanford 2-1 in double overtime in Palo Alto. That season saw the Dons beat both Stanford and Cal (2-1, Sept. 14) in the same weekend.