SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Back home to open their regular season schedule, the University of San Francisco men's soccer team will welcome Northern Illinois to Negoesco Stadium on Thursday evening before hosting Niagara on Saturday night as the Dons officially kick off their 2022 campaign this weekend.
 
GAME 1 INFORMATION:
Date: Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022
Time: 4:00 pm PST
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Site: Negoesco Stadium
Watch: WCC Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here

GAME 2 INFORMATION:
Date: Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022
Time: 7:00 pm PST
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Site: Negoesco Stadium
Watch: WCC Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here
 
DONS AT A GLANCE:

• Entering the second year of the Chris Brown era, the Dons are hungry to get back to the top of the WCC as USF will return 18 letterwinners from last year's team.
• This offseason, USF brought in two Division I transfers as well as six true freshman to add to the roster. Olivier Sylvain (Hartford) and Eric Waltz (San Jose State) come to the Hilltop from their previous institutions while Zane Alafranji, Mason Dougherty, Matthew Duggan, TJ Knight, Kian Jones and Omar Juarez all join the Dons from the high school ranks. Notably, newcomers Max Chretien, Andri Jonasson and Max Hamelink are also expected to play a key part in USF's rotation.
• Individually, the Dons will bring back their top three assist leaders in Gabriel Bracken Serra (3), Ferdy Ghafury (2) and Dominic Valdivia (2). In the cage, Waltz comes over from San Jose State after starting in six of his seven matches he appeared in for the Spartans last season. Overall, Waltz logged 22 saves and .710 save percentage for SJSU in 2021, which included two shutouts- most notably a seven-save performance at Stanford in a double overtime tie. 

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES:

• Coming to California for the first time since 2014, NIU will aim to continue their momentum from last season as the Huskies tied their program record with 15 victories in 2021. Impressively, NIU reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament after being crowned both MAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions last fall.
• Returning seven starters from a year ago, Enrique Banuelos is the leading returning scorer for the Huskies after totaling 13 points in 2021, which included three goals and seven assists. Notably, brothers Miguel Maynez Jr. and Diego Maynez as well as Zachariah Thomas, who each scored three goals apiece for NIU last season, will return on the attack. Additionally, the Huskies bring back goalkeeper Martin Sanchez, who tied for twelfth in the nation last year with eight shutouts. 
• Ahead of this season, NIU was picked in a second-place tie with Akron in the MAC preseason poll with 18 points, just one point shy of conference favorite Bowling Green, who received 19 points. The Huskies are also receiving votes in the College Soccer News preseason national poll.  

SCOUTING THE PURPLE EAGLES:

• Kicking off their season with a West Coast swing, Niagara will play at Saint Mary's on Thursday night before making their way to the Hilltop on Saturday night for a date with the Dons.
• Overall, the Purple Eagles were picked to finish sixth in the MAAC Preseason Poll, which was voted on by the league's eleven head coaches.
• Prior to the start of the regular season, head coach Bill Boyle announced that Jordan Acevedo, Josh Savoni, Stephen Hasse and Jayson Repine will serve as captains for Niagara in 2022. Last year, the Purple Eagles tallied an 8-10 record, including a 6-4 finish in MAAC play.

SERIES HISTORY:

• Thursday's match between USF and NIU will be the second meeting all-time between the Dons and Huskies. Previously, NIU defeated USF, 1-0, in a neautral site match on Aug. 31, 2008.
• Saturday's match between USF and Niagara will be the first meeting all-time between the Dons and Purple Eagles.

TALE OF THE TAPE:

San Francisco (2021 Stats)		Northern Illinois (2021 Stats)
13	Total Goals	49
0.81	Goals Per Game	2.45
2.19	Goals Against Average	1.00
12	Total Assists	43
0.75	Assists Per Game	2.15
8.4	Shots Per Game	14.5
.437	Shots on Goal Percentage	.486
74	Total Saves	42
.679	Save Percentage	.677
0-1	Penalty Kicks	1-2

 

San Francisco (2021 Stats)		Niagara (2021 Stats)
13	Total Goals	27
0.81	Goals Per Game	1.50
2.19	Goals Against Average	1.89
12	Total Assists	23
0.75	Assists Per Game	1.28
8.4	Shots Per Game	13.6
0.437	Shots on Goal Percentage	.453
74	Total Saves	81
.679	Save Percentage	.704
0-1	Penalty Kicks	2-2

 
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the USF men's soccer program, be sure to follow @USFDonsMSoccer on Twitter, @USFDonsMenssoccer on Instagram and @USFDonsMSoccer on Facebook.