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Matches No. 9-10
San Francisco Dons (5-2-1) at San Diego Toreros (3-2-4)
Friday, October 3, 2014 • 5 p.m.
Torero Stadium • San Diego, Calif.
All-time record vs. San Diego: 17-19-2
Last meeting: USF 1-0 (Nov. 1, 2013)
Live Stream: TheW.tv
Live Stats: USDToreros.com
 
San Francisco Dons vs. Loyola Marymount Lions (3-3-2)
Sunday, October 5, 2014 • 2 p.m.
Negoesco Stadium • San Francisco, Calif.
All-time record vs. Loyola Marymount: 27-10-2
Last meeting: LMU 1-0 (Nov. 3, 2013)
Live Stream: USFDons.com/LIVE
Live Stats: USFStats.com
 
SAN FRANCISCO—The Dons have come out of their tough preseason schedule with their best start in eight years and enter their first weekend against West Coast Conference opponents when they take on San Diego and Loyola Marymount.
 
San Francisco's 5-2-1 record matches the team's best start since 2006 when they held an identical mark through eight matches and reached the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Dons will travel to San Diego for Friday's match against the Toreros and will return home for a match against defending WCC champion Loyola Marymount on Sunday at 3 p.m.
 
NEW CONFERENCE FORMAT
The Dons are drawing closer to the start of West Coast Conference play and will see their first conference opponent next week when they play at San Diego on Oct. 3. The first three matches against conference opponents will not count as league games due to the addition of Pacific to the league. Unlike in previous seasons, the Dons will only play each WCC opponent in league action once.
 
DEFENSE ON LOCKDOWN
While the Dons offense has come alive through the first six matches, their defense has been nearly as impressive. San Francisco has recorded four shutouts over their last five matches and the back line of Joshua Smith, Manny Padilla, David Romney and goalkeeper Chase Hauser has been in the center of it. The Dons have a 0.61 goals against average, which is the 18th best in the nation and tops in the WCC. The team has also recorded shutouts in half of their matches, good for 24th in the nation.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Dons went 1-0-1 on the weekend with a tie against Top 30 team UC Davis and a 3-0 win over local rival San Jose State. Davi Ramos picked up a goal and an assist in the win. USF had its second weekend with back-to-back shutouts and have not allowed a goal in their last 220 minutes of play.
 
CLIMBING IN THE RPI
After finishing last season with an RPI of 123, the Dons have quickly moved up the ranks this preseason and have opened the 2014 season with an RPI of 61, third in the WCC.
 
TAKING DOWN THE TOP 25
The Dons have posted wins over No. 21 Wisconsin to open the season and beat No. 24 Florida Gulf Coast on Friday night. The two wins over Top 25 teams marks the first time the program has accomplished the feat since 2011 when they beat No. 18 Santa Clara and No. 25 Portland in consecutive matches.
 
GROUNDING THE EAGLES
The Dons welcomed in No. 24 Florida Gulf Coast for the team's home opener on Friday night and controlled much of the match, wearing the Eagles down. Following an FGCU red card, the Dons finally scored on a 72nd minute penalty kick by Danny Kirkland to give them a 1-0 lead. It was his second game-winner of the season and gave the Dons their second win over a Top 25 team.
 
TAMING THE BADGERS
The Dons got a first half goal from newcomer Davi Ramos and another goal from Danny Kirkland to take a 2-0 lead against No. 21 Wisconsin. The Badgers scored in the 81st minute but that is as close as they would get. It was the first time since 2007 the Dons had defeated a ranked opponent (2-1 vs. No. 11 California) and is the first time since 2008 they had beaten a Big Ten opponent.
 
SUMMER WITH MLS SQUADS
Miguel Aguilar was among a group of Dons who participated with various MLS developmental teams this summer. Aguilar spent the summer with the Portland Timbers developmental academy and played in eight games, recording a goal and an assist. Danny Kirkland and Joshua Smith were with the San Jose Earthquakes academy and gained valuable experience to bring back to the Dons this season.
 
ABOUT SAN DIEGO
The Toreros are coming off possibly the biggest upset in the program's history after beating No. 1 UCLA 1-0 on Friday night. The game winner came in the 15th minute off the foot of Patrick Zimmer, his first goal of the season. San Diego has played five overtime matches through its first eight matches.
 
ABOUT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
The defending WCC champions have played a tough preseason schedule which has included games at Duke, Xavier, UC Davis and at home against No. 6 UC Irvine and have held their own. They have allowed eight goals in their first eight matches behind the goalkeeping tandem of Vince Paldino and Paul Blanchette. Preseason All-WCC pick Adrien Perez leads the Lions with three goals.