Dons Outshoot Bulldogs in Hard-Fought Draw

Saturday, October 7

San Francisco, Calif.

7:00 PM

University of San Francisco

5-2-4, 0-1-1

Gonzaga

2-5-5, 0-1-1

Team	1	2	Final F
Gonzaga	0	0	0
San Francisco	0	0	0

Photo by: Christina Leung

10/7/2023 10:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Returning to the Hilltop for their first home conference game of the season, the University of San Francisco men's soccer team (5-2-4, 0-1-1 WCC) finished in a scoreless draw on Saturday night as the Dons battled WCC foe Gonzaga (2-5-5, 0-1-1 WCC) for a full 90 minutes at Negoesco Stadium.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Firing the first shots of the evening for the green and gold, Rylan Smith and Max Hamelink ripped their first attempts of the night at 12:08 and 12:50, but could not find the back of the net to start.
At 18:58, Gabriel Bracken Serra had arguably the closest chance of the night for the Dons as the midfielder rocketed a shot off the crossbar, just inches short of giving San Francisco an early advantage.
As the half continued, USF continued to attack as the Dons would outshoot the Bulldogs 8-3 through the opening minutes of play. Notably, freshman Max Mair checked into the game for the first time in his collegiate career, which included tallying his first collegiate shot right before the halftime break at 43:51. Specifically, Mair attempted a bicycle kick goal, but Gonzaga goalkeeper Wessel Sprangers denied the forward to keep the match scoreless heading into halftime.
With no goals in the first half, Bracken Serra came out on a mission to begin the second half as he recorded another shot at 47:54, missing just wide left.
Down the stretch, San Francisco had a handful of opportunities to go on top, which included shot attempts from Arjan Dosanjh, Olivier Sylvain, Constantinos Michaelides and Max Hamelink.
Although these Dons could not squeeze one past the opposing keeper, USF also kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard in the final minutes of play. With just 38 seconds left, Eric Waltz made one final save for the green and gold to deny the Bulldogs. At the end of regulation, the match remained scoreless.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

Continuing to serve as a catalyst offensively, Bracken Serra tallied a career-high five shots against the Bulldogs as he also played a full 90 minutes for the fourth time in the last five matches.
Adding to his team-high, Sylvain fired three shots of his own to increase his total to 29 shots on the year, which also ties for the conference lead after Saturday.
Defensively, San Francisco recorded their fourth blank sheet against Gonzaga and their third in their last four home games.

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

To view the full highlights of tonight's contest, please click here.
To view the full postgame interview with head coach Chris Brown, please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will begin a three-game stretch on the road next week as the Dons will head to the South Bay for a 7:00 pm battle on Thursday, Oct. 12 at Stanford. Live streaming and live statistics will be available via the team's schedule page.

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

MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.

SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor - LuxBus America - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.