Oct. 25, 2002

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University's championship hopes suffered a major setback while the University of San Francisco kept control of its title destiny as the visiting Dons took a 2-0 West Coast Conference men's soccer victory on a sunny but cool Friday afternoon at Martin Field.

The Bulldogs (3-8-1; 1-1-1) concluded their home season and now finish the WCC portion of the schedule with road contests at the University of San Diego, Loyola Marymount University and the University of Portland. USF travels to Portland on Sunday for a showdown of undefeated teams, the Pilots brining a 3-0-0 WCC record into the fray.

The decisive goal came at 35:15 when Nick Kounalakis scored his first goal of the season on a right-to-left header into the upper corner off a long cross from Chris Schwarze. The best opportunity for the Bulldogs came late in the half when Kari Arnason's point blank shot was stopped by sprawling USF keeper Mark Muleady who recorded his third shutout of the season and his second in as many WCC outings.

The Bulldogs controlled the territorial advantage for much of the second half. Muleady tipped away a long free kick by Matt Prichard 10 minutes into the half, then Taylor McCool's right-to-left shot slithered past the post 15 minutes into the second half.

The insurance goal for the Dons came at 86:15 when Josh Hansen scored his 10th goal of the season from the far left wing, a hard shot catching the inside post to the right of Gonzaga keeper Mike McCarthy.

Muleady had seven saves, while McCarthy, one of four Bulldog seniors in their home finale, finished with three saves. Gonzaga held a 15-11 shots advantage. Gonzaga also had several setup opportunities with a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks.

The Bulldogs played the final 1:45 shorthanded when Connor Quinn picked up his second yellow card of the match. Quinn will have to sit out next Friday's match at San Diego.