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TICKETS | 2014 SCHEDULE | 2014 ROSTER | GAME NOTESÂ
Match Nos. 18-19San Francisco Dons (9-6-2, 3-2-0 WCC) at Pacific Tigers (3-13-0, 1-4-0 WCC)Thursday, November 13, 2014 • 7 p.m.Knoles Field • Stockton, Calif.All-time record vs. Pacific: 20-0-0
Last meeting: USF 16-1 (October 30, 1985)
Live Stream: PacificTigers.comLive Stats: STATSÂ
San Francisco Dons vs. Santa Clara Broncos (6-7-4, 2-2-1 WCC)Saturday, November 15, 2014 • 7 p.m.Negoesco Stadium • San Francisco, Calif.All-time record vs. Santa Clara: 29-25-11
Last meeting: T 1-1 (October 12, 2014)
Live Stream: TheW.tvLive Stats: STATSÂ
SAN FRANCISCO—After losing its chance at a conference championship over the weekend, the Dons will return to the action with the hopes of still obtaining an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when they wrap up WCC play with Pacific and Santa Clara.
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San Francisco will be on the road to make up a postponed game at Pacific on Thursday before returning home for Senior Night against Santa Clara.
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SENIOR DAYThe Dons play their final game of the regular season on Saturday and will pay tribute to their six seniors:
Miguel Aguilar,
David Romney,
Chase Hauser,
Sixto Porras,
Taylor Krueger and
Danny Kirkland. Aguilar and Kirkland have combined for 26 career goals and are the top two scorers for the Dons this season. Romney has made all but seven starts since arriving on the Hilltop. Hauser has picked up six shutouts in his two seasons at USF. Porras and Krueger have each played in 61 career games in Green and Gold.
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AT-LARGE HOPESDespite a rough weekend, the Dons remain on the cusp of at-large status. As of Monday, San Francisco's RPI is at 57, the second highest in the West Coast Conference. The top four teams in the conference are all in the RPI top 65.
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NEAR TOPS IN WCCA number of Dons are near, if not at, the top of several WCC statistical categories.
Danny Kirkland is fourth in the conference with six goals, two behind league leader Tristan Blackmon (Pacific), and has a league-leading five game-winning goals.
David Romney is tied for third in the conference with five assists, one behind the leaders Rafael Sanchez (Saint Mary's), and Adrien Peres (Loyola Marymount).
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LAST TIME OUTThe Dons had a chance to keep pace with San Diego for the conference race but dropped both contests last week to Loyola Marymount and the Toreros 2-1. USF led Sunday's match against San Diego 1-0 at halftime on a goal from
David Garrett but gave up two in the second half in the loss.
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MOVING IN RIGHT DIRECTIONSan Francisco comes into the final weekend of play with nine wins and have two chances to get to won No. 10, which would mark the first time since 2006 that a USF team has accomplished that feat. At 9-6-2, the team has also guaranteed itself its first season with a winning record since 2006. The team is also in a three-way tie for second place with Loyola Marymount and Saint Mary's and could have its best finish since 2008 when they won the WCC. USF has also scored 24 goals this season with 21 assists, which is an improvement from the 17 goals on 10 assists a year ago.
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TAKING DOWN THE TOP 25The 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.
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GROUNDING THE EAGLESThe 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.
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TAMING THE BADGERSThe 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.
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SUMMER WITH MLS SQUADSMiguel 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.
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