Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. --
Mackenzie Krieser scored an unassisted goal at the 23:49 mark of the first half and
Jaciara Mello added a second goal off a corner kick midway through the second half to lead USF to a 2-0 victory over visiting Gonzaga at Negoesco Stadium.
The win snaps a three-match losing streak for the Dons which improved to 6-6-3 overall and 1-3-0 in the West Coast Conference while the Zags fell to 6-7-1 and 0-2-1 in the WCC.
Krieser was in the right place at the right time to record her eighth goal of the season, gathering a rebound off the post before blasting the ball past Gonzaga keeper Susan Brown into the back corner to give USF a 1-0 lead at the 23:49 mark.
Mello scored her second goal of the season when she found the ball in a crowd in front of the net after a corner kick by
Abigail Phillips. Her goal gave USF a 2-0 lead at the 59:27 mark.
“Both Mackenzie and Jaciara have a tremendous upside,” said first year coach
Jim Millinder. "Mac always seems to be in the right place at the right time and her goal really got us going early. Jaciara's goal iced it for us."
Senior goalkeeper
Megan Connor, who made her third start of the season following the season-ending injury to
Madalyn Schiffel, stopped five Gonzaga shots on goal in registering her first career shut out.
“Megan was tremendous,” said Millinder. “We really wanted to keep a clean sheet for her today. She gets better and better every game and our backline did a tremendous job in front of her.
Connor admits her adjustment to the position is still a work in progress.
“I've never thought of myself as a goalkeeper after playing forward all my life but I'm having fun with it. I'm learning more about the position each day and our defense is really working hard to limit the shots in front of me.”
USF will return to action on Friday when it travels to Moraga to face Saint Mary's beginning at 1:00 p.m.
