SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Playing a tightly contested match to open West Coast Conference play, the University of San Francisco Dons men's soccer team (5-2-3) battled to the final horn against San Diego (7-3-1) on Friday night, but ultimately fell 1-0 in a hard-fought match at Torero Stadium.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Eric Waltz recorded his first save of the match in just the fourth minute of action, which was then followed by the first shot of the game for the Dons coming off the foot of Constantinos Michaelides at the 4:25 mark.
• Defense was the name of the game for the rest of the first half as the two teams combined for just five shots, including one by Olivier Sylvain. With neither club able to score in the opening 45 minutes, the Dons and Toreros headed back to the locker room in a 0-0 tie.
• In the 59^th minute, San Diego midfielder Mason Tunbridge found midfielder Oliver Rhoades for the match's first strike, giving the Toreros a 1-0 lead.
• In the final 30 minutes of the match, the green and gold outshot San Diego 4-1, but were unable to find the equalizer they needed to respond. Fighting until the clock expired, defending WCC champion San Diego defended their home field as USD hung on to secure the 1-0 victory on Friday night.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Olivier Sylvain led the Dons in total shots with three as the sophomore added to his team lead against the Toreros.
• Notably, a season-high seven different Dons saw all 90 minutes on the pitch tonight, including Max Hamelink, who played the entire match for the first time this season.
• Hamelink's one shot on goal today now ties him with Michaelides and Gabriel Bracken Serra for the team lead as each have racked up nine shots on target so far this fall.

UP NEXT:
After a two games away from home, San Francisco will return to the Hilltop to face Gonzaga on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7:00 p.m. at Negoesco Stadium. Live streaming and live statistics links for the match are available via the team's schedule page. Tickets for Saturday's contest are available via usfdons.com/tickets.

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 primary sponsor - Corona - 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.