University of San Francisco Athletics

1976 Men's Soccer National Champions

Head Coach: Steve Negoesco
Overall Record: 20-2-3    
WCISC Record: 7-1-2
All-WCISC Team: Andy Atuegbu, Tom Trondstat
Most Goals: Anthony Gray (12)    
Most Assists: Anthony Gray (10)
Most Points: Anthony Gray (34 – 12 goals, 10 assists)    
Goals Against Average: Peter Arnautoff (.89)

In 1976, Coach Steve Negoesco and his Dons faced the challenge of repeating their national championship won in 1975. USF’s road to a second straight NCAA national title began one night in San Francisco and ended at Philadelphia’s Franklin Field in sub-freezing temperatures. The Dons arrived in Philadelphia for the Final Four as the underdog. At 18-0-1, Clemson was ranked number one in the country; at 17-0-1, Indiana was number two, and at 15-0-1, Hartwick was ranked third. The Dons at 18-2-3 were the only team among the finalists that were not undefeated  

The Dons employed a new 2-4-4 defense against the Clemson offense in the semifinals. The strategy paid off as USF had a 1-0 win, with John Brooks scoring the only goal of the game during the second half. The next day USF goalie Peter Arnautoff led the defense to another win at 1-0.  As was the case in 1975, the most dominant player on the field was All-American Andy Atuegbu. In the 36th minute of the opening half, he took the ball at midfield, dribbled up the left side, and then made one of his cannonball shots into the top right corner. The 20-yard blast brought USF the 1976 NCAA Championship. The 1976 Dons led by their Hall of Fame coach, Steve Negoesco, outscored their opponents 8-0 in four NCAA playoff games, and had 9 future Hall-of-Famers among them.

Did You Know? A brilliant strategic move by Coach Steve Negoesco paid off in the Dons championship win over Indiana. Negoesco put fullback John Brooks in as a rover against Indiana’s Forward Angelo DiBernardo. “I told John, ‘Never let him have the ball. It’s a simple assignment. If he goes to the bathroom you go with him.’ And it worked,” said Negoesco after the win. The formidable DiBernardo was thoroughly frustrated and was denied the ball all day by Brooks, who stuck to him like duct tape.

They Said It: “Let’s not celebrate yet,” Negoesco waved a finger at his ecstatic players in the locker room after the NCAA semifinal win over Clemson. “Don’t get a big head. If you do you’ll fall on your butt. Hartwick didn’t cover DiBernardo enough and he’ll be there tomorrow looking down your throats. You’ll have to shut him off and shut off his feeders.”