Aug. 23, 2011
SAN DIEGO, Calif.- UP NEXT: San Diego (0-0-0) at #24 UC Irvine (0-0-0)
Friday, August 26th, 7:00 pm
Irvine, Calif.
STAR WATCH: The Torero offense is expected to run through 2010 West Coast Conference Player of the Year Patrick Wallen. The junior from Vasteras, Sweden led the conference in goals last season with 12, while also pacing the conference in points (25) and game-winning goals (5). His 12 goals and 25 points last year were each the second-most in a single season in WCC matches in conference history. Wallen was the WCC Freshman of the Year in 2009 after leading the team in goals (7) and points (19).
RECAPPING 2010: The Toreros wrapped up the 2010 campaign with a record of 9-7-3 (6-4-2 WCC), good for fourth place in the WCC. Sophomore forward Patrick Wallen and senior defender Cory Norris earned first-team All-WCC honors, while junior forward Stephen Posa took home second-team honors after scoring two goals and adding four assists. Elijah Galbraith-Knapp was named to the WCC All-Freshman team after starting 18 of the team's 19 matches.
TOREROS TABBED SECOND IN WCC PRESEASON POLL: The University of San Diego men's soccer team was picked second in the 2011 West Coast Conference preseason coaches poll. The Toreros garnered 27 total points, trailing only Loyola Marymount, who was voted first with 36 total points and six first place votes. In third was Santa Clara with 26 points, followed by Portland with 21 points, and Saint Mary's in fifth place with 19 points and one first place vote. Rounding out the poll with a tie for sixth were Gonzaga and San Francisco, each with nine points.
WALLEN AND POSA EARN PRESEASON ALL-WCC HONORS: The Toreros placed two players on the preseason All-WCC team with junior forward Patrick Wallen and senior forward Stephen Posa. Wallen (Vasteras, Sweden) was last season's WCC Player of the Year and a first-team All-WCC selection after leading the conference in goals scored (12), points (25), and game-winning goals (5). Posa (San Diego, CA) was a second-team All-WCC selection last season after tallying a pair of goals and four assists.
SCOUTING THE ANTEATERS: UC Irvine enters the season with a No. 17 ranking from topdrawersoccer.com and a No. 24 ranking from the NSCAA preseason poll. The Anteaters, who finished last season with a record of 14-3-3 and a ranking of 22nd, were picked to finish fourth in the 2011 Big West preseason poll. UC Irvine took home the nation's 39th-ranked recruiting class this past offseason. Senior goalkeeper Andrew Fontein returns after recording a school record 11 shutouts last season.
TOREROS ALL-TIME VS. UC IRVINE: USD is 17-4-1 all-time against the Anteaters. The last time these teams met was in 2008 when UC Irvine defeated USD 1-0 at Torero Stadium. The last Torero victory over UC Irvine came in 2005 with a 3-0 shutout at home.
FRESH FACES IN 2011: The Toreros add nine newcomers to this year's roster, including seven freshmen and two transfers to go along with the 17 letterwinners returning. This year's freshman crop consists of defenders Austin Dunn (Auburn, CA), Thomas Fiskerstrand (Aalesund, Norway), and Callum Whittaker (London, England), forwards Joey Dei Rossi (Campbell, CA), Sean Klauer (Sammamish, WA), and Alex Gallagher (Billings, MT), and midfielder Shane Thompson (Las Vegas, NV). Redshirt sophomore forward Blake Milton (Spring, TX) transfers to USD this season from SMU, while junior defender Ernesto Jimenez (Santo Domingo, D.R.) joins the Toreros by way of Western Michigan University.
HEAD COACH Seamus McFadden: Entering his 33rd year at the helm, Seamus McFadden holds a career record of 321-239-56 at USD. McFadden joined the 300-win club in 2008 and has earned seven West Coast Conference Coach of the Year honors (`00, `99, '98, '95, '94, '92, '86) during his tenure at USD. He has guided the Toreros to six WCC championships and 12 NCAA tournament appearances after taking over in 1979 at the origin of the USD men's soccer program. As the all-time WCC wins leader, McFadden has coached eight NSCAA All-Americans, 141 All-WCC honorees, and 16 WCC Players of the Year. In 1992, McFadden led the Toreros to a 19-5 record and an NCAA Championship final appearance against Virginia. McFadden, a native of Donegal, Ireland, played soccer at San Diego State, graduating in 1976 with a degree in History.
CATCH THE ACTION: Fans can follow all the Torero soccer action all season long by clicking on the Gametracker and/or Livestats links on the team's schedule at www.usdtoreros.com. USD will also be appearing live on the Fox Soccer Channel for the NSCAA Game of the Week when they take on Portland on Friday, October 7th at 7:00 pm in Portland, Ore.
