Season Preview | Game Notes  

COMING UP:
USF Dons (0-0-0) vs. Cal Poly Mustangs (0-0-0)
Friday, Aug. 21, 7 p.m. | Negoesco Stadium, San Francisco, Calif. 
All-Time Record vs. Cal Poly: 1-2-0
Last Meeting: Cal Poly won, 3-1, Aug. 28, 2014; at Cal Poly
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Video: TheW.tv

USF Dons (0-0-0) vs. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (0-0-0)
Sunday, Aug. 23, 1 p.m. | Negoesco Stadium, San Francisco, Calif. 
All-Time Record vs. UCSB: 3-7-1
Last Meeting: UCSB won, 3-1, Sept. 14, 2012; at USF
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Video: TheW.tv

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - The USF Dons kick off the 2015 campaign with a pair of home matches against Big West opponents this weekend. Behind the experience of their five returning All-WCC performers, the Dons look to build on last season's 7-10-3 (3-5-1) mark and record the program's first winning season since the 2004 campaign.

Fourth-year head coach Jim Millinder welcomes back 17 letterwinners from a year ago, while adding a crop of 10 newcomers, including nine freshmen and one transfer. 
USF will open the season on Friday evening against Cal Poly with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Negoesco Stadium. They will follow that up with a 1 p.m. contest versus UC Santa Barbara on Sunday. 

Live stats and a live video stream will be available for both matches this weekend via links on the women's soccer schedule page at www.usfdons.com. The live stream will feature play-by-play by Pat Olson on Friday and Charles Wollin on Sunday.  

OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
The Dons are 2-2-1 in season openers over the past five seasons. Last year, USF fell to No. 23 Cal 3-1 on the road in the season opener. Amanda Whittle scored in the 57th minute for the Dons in that contest. 

BACK IN THE MIX
The Dons bring back five All-WCC performers from 2014. Leading the way is Jr. D Jessica Nakae (3 G/3 A), who became the first Don to earn first team All-WCC honors since 1997. Sr. GK Madalyn Schiffel (1.25 GAA) was a second team selection, while Jr. M Amanda Whittle was named honorable mention and So. M Sonja Giraud earned a spot on the all-freshman team.  

SCHIFFEL BACK BETWEEN THE PIPES
Sr. GK Madalyn Schiffel, who was named second team All-WCC last season, participated in the Team USA U-23 camp in April with some of the best college players in the country. She enters this season tied with Amy Voiland (1994-98) for the most career solo shutouts in USF history (14). 

ABOUT CAL POLY
The Mustangs finished the 2014 season with a 10-9-1 overall record and are the favorites to win the Big West this year. Cal Poly defeated USF 3-1 in San Luis Obispo when the two teams met last year. Cal Poly returns their top scorer from a year ago in Sr. F Elise Krieghoff, who tallied 14 goals and 4 assists.  Krieghoff comes into the season with the third-most career goals among active Division I players. (46).  The Mustangs also return Jr. F Megan Abutin, who scored 7 goals in 2014. Sr. GK Alyssa Giannetti returns in the net after posting a 1.14 goals against average with 78 saves. Head coach Alex Crozier is in his 24th season at the helm.       

ABOUT UC SANTA BARBARA
The Gauchos come into the 2015 season projected to finish 6th in the Big West preseason poll after posting an overall record of 8-9-2 in 2014. UCSB led the Big West in goals scored a year ago, while Sr. M Angelisa Cortez and Jr. M/F Sara Feder return after tying for the team lead with 5 goals apiece. Sr. GK Beth Ritter also returns in goal for the Gauchos after a notching a 1.27 goals against average with 48 saves last season. Head coach Paul Stumpf enters his 17th season at UCSB. 

DONS PICKED SIXTH IN WCC
USF was picked to finish 6th in the 2015 West Coast Conference preseason poll, while senior goalkeeper Madalyn Schiffel and junior defender Jessica Nakae were selected for the preseason All-WCC team. The Dons received a total of 40 points in the poll. BYU, the WCC's defending champion, took home the top spot with eight first-place votes. Santa Clara was voted to finish second after collecting 69 total points with two first place votes, followed by preseason No. 10 Pepperdine (63) in third place and San Diego (61) in fourth.

TELSON TAKES GOLD
Sr. F Sydnie Telson enjoyed a summer in Berlin, Germany where she helped the U.S. team win gold at the 2015 Maccabi Games, major international multi-sport event held every four years. Telson started all four matches and contributed three assists as the U.S. team went 4-0, including a 2-0 victory over Sweden in the gold medal game.  

VERSUS THE BIG WEST
The Dons are 6-6-0 against Big West opponents since 2010.