1975 Men's Soccer National Champions
1975 NCAA National Champions
1975 West Coast Intercollegiate Soccer Conference Champions
Head Coach: Steve Negoesco
Overall Record: 21-1-2 WCISC Record: 8-0-2
All-WCISC Team: Andy Atuegbu, Paul Korn
Most Goals: Andy Atuegbu, Mal Roche (14) Most Assists: Paul Korn (10)
Most Points: Andy Atuegbu, Mal Roche (36 – 14 goals, 8 assists) Goals Against Average: Peter Arnautoff (.83)
USF Hall-of-Famers: Andy Atuegbu, Peter Arnautoff, Bjorn Dahl, Anthony Gray, Paul Korn, Greg McKeown, Misak Pirinjian, Mal Roche, Kjell Tvedt, Steve Negoesco
USF’s speed and finesse made them the number one team in the country in 1975. They had to prove it against a strong Final Four field in Edwardsville, Illinois that included host SIU-Edwardsville, Brown and defending national champion Howard.
The Dons had their hands full in the semifinal contest against Brown, pulling out a 3-2 decision in triple overtime. Greg McKeown set up the Dons’ game winner with a pinpoint pass to a surprised and open Mal Roche who scored from 10 yards out to send the Dons to the title game.
USF was then faced with the challenge of taking on the host team, SIU Edwardsville for the championship. The Dons were not intimidated as they walked off with the championship by a 4-0 count. USF jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the seventh minute of play when McKeown headed in a Roche cross. By halftime USF had extended the lead to 3-0 as Paul Korn and Victor Arbalaez each added goals. Andy Atuegbu scored the only goal of the second half on a pass from Kjell Tvedt.
Charles Gould of the St. Louis Globe-Dispatch summed it up best: “If the mighty Dons from the banks of the San Francisco Bay are not the best college soccer team ever to win the NCAA Championship, they have to be rated right near the top.”
The Dons had opened the 1975 campaign by defeating one of the most prestigious schools, St. Louis University 5-2 on the road. The next day the Dons were Philadelphia bound to play Philadelphia College of Textile and Sciences where they were handed there only loss of the season, 4-2. From that point, the Dons won 12 straight games registering six shutouts before San Jose State played USF to a 1-1 tie to end the winning streak.
Did You Know? Coach Steve Negoesco changed his entire starting line-up in the semifinal game versus Brown. Negoesco explained the strategy to Sports Illustrated magazine, “I started a whole different team against Brown than I did in the final. It was a gamble, but if I hadn’t, then SIU would have known everything we were going to do.”
They Said It: “I told the boys to expect insults from the people in the stands. They called us a bunch of foreigners and much worse. I’m proud of the way we played. The boys won with style and flair. They answered the insults with ball handling that made the other team look foolish. The 1966 championship was excellent but this 1975 team is a quality team, solid in all respects,” Coach Steve Negoesco.
