Nov. 1, 2009

Box Score

San Francisco, Calif. - LMU's quest to climb the West Coast Conference ladder was dealt a blow on Sunday afternoon at Negoesco Stadium in San Francisco as Conor Chinn netted a hat-trick to lift San Francisco to a 3-1 victory. The loss drops the Lions (7-8-1, 2-5-1 WCC) below .500 for the first time this season as they split the season series with the Dons (6-8-0, 3-5-0 WCC).

The teams entered the day separated by a point in the WCC standings, where four teams are battling for fourth place and to keep alive their post-season hopes. The Lions, who have secured four points from their last seven matches, had beaten the 2008 WCC Champion Dons in each of the last two meetings, and looked to make it three in a row on Sunday.

Things did not start well for the Lions, although it was a case of déjà vu as they found themselves trailing 2-0 after half an hour. USF came out firing, holding a 14-2 shot advantage in the first half and forcing senior goalkeeper Patrick Sampson into nine saves before the break. It took two goals in nine minutes from Chinn to break through. On the opener 21 minutes in, Chinn finished off a move from Bryan Burke and Justin Warren by beating Sampson from seven yards out.

Nine minutes later, Chinn took it upon himself to double the home team's advantage. He intercepted a Lion pass, then split two defenders before firing past Sampson at the near post.

LMU, meanwhile, was trying to find its offensive footing. The Lions had to wait until the 35th minute before getting off their first shot, when freshman Sean Sears forced a save out of USF goalie Brendan Roslund. A minute before the break, freshman John Ikard brought Roslund into action again.

Trailing by two at the break against the Dons was not an unfamiliar position for the Lions, who fell behind USF 2-0 after 46 minutes in their previous meeting at Sullivan Field on October 2. On that date, the Lions rallied for a 3-2 overtime victory, winning on sophomore Phil Da Silva's 98th-minute goal. This time, it was Da Silva who started the Lions on the comeback trail by pulling a goal back in the 64th minute.

The Lions took it to the Dons from the second half kick-off, winning three corner kicks and bringing another save out of Roslund before Da Silva's strike. Sophomores Jonas Reiter and Artur Jozkowicz provided the build-up, connecting on a pair of short passes before finding Da Silva five yards out. Da Silva slotted home to the far post for his third goal of the season.

LMU did not let up and continued to apply the pressure in search of the equalizer. In the 68th minute, junior Vincent Ocampo's shot was turned away by Roslund. Over the next two minutes, LMU won two more corners in succession before senior Steffen Canty fired high.

Chinn would complete the scoring, and his hat-trick, in the 73rd minute. Burke again provided the assist, sending a short cross to Chinn at the near post.

LMU would have one more chance in the 84th minute but Roslund again denied Ocampo to end the Lions' threat.

LMU and USF each recorded eight shots in the second half, with the Dons finishing the match with a 22-10 advantage. Sampson finished with a career-high 14 saves for the Lions while Roslund stopped five for the Dons.

LMU returns to Sullivan Field for the final time this season with a pair of games next week. The Lions host Gonzaga at 2:30 p.m. on Friday before closing out the home campaign on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Portland. Prior to the Portland match, the Lions will honor their 2009 senior class playing their final home game.