SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Gonzaga men's soccer team started WCC conference play with a 3-2 victory over San Diego. The win marks the third win on the road for the Bulldogs.
"Conference games are always a different level of intensity," head coach Aaron Lewis said. "Our team stayed the course, stayed together and got a hold of the match in a big way in the second half."
The Zags (6-4-0) started off with a goal from junior Frankie Ljucovic in the eighth minute of play. The goal was assisted by junior Sebastian Karlholm, who passed it to Ljucovic from outside the box. Ljucovic instantly knocked it into the back of the net following the dish.
San Diego (1-9-0) responded in the 29th minute by a goal from Cameron Kaemerle, tying the game at 1-1. The Toreros kept the pressure on the Bulldogs as they scored another goal with 30 seconds left in the first half and took the lead, 2-1.
Gonzaga came out hot in the second half with a goal in the 55th minute from freshman Wylie Trujillo on the bottom right side of the goal. The score came off a save from goalkeeper Marley Mascarenas and Trujillo was right there to kick it in to tie the game at 2-2.
In the 69th minute, junior Demitrius Kigeya dished in a perfect pass to Ljucovic, who came running into the inside of the box. Ljucovic was able to cash in the opportunity by sneaking it past the goalkeeper, giving the Zags the 3-2 lead. The pair of goals is a single game career best for Ljucovic and are his first two goals of the season.
"Frankie had a special night tonight offensively and Noah Bushey helped lead us during stretches when USD had momentum," Lewis added.
In the back-and-forth battle between the two teams, Gonzaga was outshot 14-11 as redshirt sophomore Johan Garibay recorded five saves on the night.
The victory marks the first conference opening win for the Bulldogs since 2015 as GU defeated Portland in the first conference game of the season on Oct. 11, 2015.
SERIES HISTORY
Gonzaga moves to 7-22-1 against San Diego. The win is the first one against the Toreros since 2019.
UP NEXT
The Zags return home to take on Loyola Marymount on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. Live stats and live stream can be found at GoZags.com.
