SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – First year head coach Chris Brown and the University of San Francisco men's soccer program are set to begin their 2021 fall season this Thursday, August 26^th.
 
Scheduled to host the Sacramento State at Negoesco Stadium, the Dons will host the Hornets at 7:00 pm in their 2021 home opener.
 
GAME 1 INFORMATION

Date/Time: Aug. 26 – 7:00 p.m.
Opponent: Sacramento State (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Big Sky)
Site: Negoesco Stadium (San Francisco)
Audio: None
Video: WCC Network
Live Stats: Statbroadcast.com
 
 
LAST TIME OUT:

• Last Friday, the Dons battled California in a hard-fought exhibition match at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley, which resulted in a 2-2 tie. Early on, USF got on the board when midfielder Dominic Valdivia scored off a corner kick in just the second minute of the game. Despite holding a 1-0 halftime lead, the Golden Bears struck twice out of the halftime break to jump on top of the Dons, 2-1, through the 53^rd minute. Down the stretch, 2020-21 WCC Freshman of the Year Nonso Adimabua got in on the action by delivering the equalizer to knot the game at two. Ultimately, neither team would be able to find the back of the net in the final minutes of the contest. Overall, the Dons outshot Cal 12-5, including an 8-2 mark in the second half. Notably, six of USF's shots were on target.
• Prior to their matchup with the Bears, the Dons squared off against San Jose State on Wednesday, Aug. 18 at Negoesco Stadium, but ultimately fell to the Spartans, 2-1. In the contest, forward Arjan Dosanjh netted the lone goal for USF in the 35^th minute.

 
DONS AT A GLANCE:

• Following the postponement of their regular season last fall, the Dons finished third in the final WCC regular season standings in the shortened spring season, tallying a 4-4-2 record overall and a 3-2-2 record in conference play. This year, USF was picked to finish seventh in the preseason while Adimabua was named to the 2021 Preseason All-WCC Men's Soccer team.
• Impressively, six Dons earned all-conference honors last spring. In addition to being named Freshman of the Year, Adimabua was selected to the WCC All-Freshman team and WCC All-First team while his teammates Shayan Charalaghi, Kevyn Lo, Ivo Neto and Valdivia all earned Honorable Mention honors. Notably, Gabriel Bracken Serra also joined Adimabua on the All-Freshman team.
• In the classroom, four Dons earned WCC All-Academic honors for 2020-21: Alejandro Munoz was named to the First Team while Easton Harryman, Connor Mcauslan and Ruben Stuiver were selected as Honorable Mentions.

 
SCOUTING THE HORNETS:

• With the 2020 fall season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hornets finished their 2019 campaign with a 7-9-2 overall record and a 2-4-1 mark in conference play, placing them seventh in the final Big West regular season standings. On the pitch, Sacramento State totaled 23 goals in 18 contests, averaging 1.28 goals per game.
• Individually, midfielder Oscar Govea led the offense with 12 total points while midfielder Matt Carnefix placed second with 11 total points. Notably, Govea also tied Carnefield and forward Benji Kikanovic for the team lead with four total goals. In the cage, Ryan Curtis collected 61 saves and two shutouts in 2019 while teammate Hector Grajeda logged 20 saves himself.
• Recently, Sacramento State was picked to finish sixth out of ten teams in the Big West in the 2021 Preseason Poll with a total of 42 points earned. Aiming to continue his success, Govea was also named to the 2021 Preseason All-Big West Men's Soccer team.

 
SERIES HISTORY:

• Since 2011, the Dons and Hornets have faced off five times, with Sacramento State coming out victorious in four of the five matches. Looking back, USF took down the Hornets, 2-1, on Sept. 9, 2012 at Negoesco Stadium.

 
TALE OF THE TAPE:
 

Sacramento State (2019)		San Francisco (2020)
23	Total Goals	10
1.28	Goals Per Game	1.00
1.67	Goals Against Average	1.53
22	Total Assists	10
1.2	Assists Per Game	1.00
10.9	Shots Per Game	8.6
.386	Shots on Goal Percentage	.419
84	Total Saves	36
.737	Save Percentage	.692
2-2	Penalty Kicks	0-0

 
 
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the USF men's soccer program, be sure to follow @USFDonsMSoccer on Twitter, @USFDonsMenssoccer on Instagram and @USFDonsMSoccer on Facebook.