1956 Northern California Intercollegiate Soccer Conference Champions
Head Coach: Gus Donoghue
Overall Record: 7-0-2 NCISC Record: 7-0-1
All-NCISC Team: Ramon Diaz, Bob Machado, Joe Njoku-obi, Ben Razon
Most Goals: Joe Njoku-obi
USF Hall-of-Famers: Robert Braghetta, Joe Njoku-obi, Gus Donaghue
The 1956 USF Dons won their ninth consecutive Northern California Intercollegiate Soccer Conference with a 7-0-1 league record. The Dons opened the season with five straight wins – handling City College of San Francisco (4-0), San Jose State (2-1), Stanford (5-2), Santa Clara (7-1) and California (3-0).
San Francisco State played USF to a 1-1 tie, then two more wins followed as the Dons beat UC Davis 7-2 and defeated City College of San Francisco 4-0. The Dons ended the season playing the NCISC All-Stars and the game ended in a 0-0 tie. For the season the Dons outscored their opponents 33-9.
Joe Njoku-obi led the Dons in goals scored for the second straight season and also earned second team All-American honors for the second consecutive year. Njoku-obi would be inducted into the USF Hall of Fame in 1959. Ben Razon also was named All-American earning a spot on the honorable mention squad.
Did You Know? USF Soccer Coach Gus Donoghue held a doctoral degree from Stanford University. He also played on the Hilltop during the Dons first “Golden Era” of soccer in the 1930’s and was named All-American in 1934, 1935 and 1936. He retired after the 1960 season with an overall record of 121-12-14, 11 straight conference championships and a share of the national title in 1949. He also served as the Director of Admissions on the Hilltop and his .871 winning percentage is still the best among NCAA Division I coaches.
They Said It: “Even at the beginning I was impressed with Gus Donoghue. He was the most educated coach I’ve ever been around,” commented Steve Negoesco who played for Donaghue from 1947-50 “He was a pleasure to be with. I never saw him lose his composure. He showed us all that he cared, and he took care of his players.”
