Torero Athletics: Men's Soccer Unbeaten in Last Six; Homecoming Wins for Football, Volleyball

The University of San Diego men’s soccer team recorded a tie and an overtime win last weekend to remain unbeaten in West Coast Conference play and extend its unbeaten streak to six games.

Miguel Berry scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season to propel San Diego to a 2-1 overtime victory against Gonzaga on Oct. 15 at Torero Stadium. The Toreros improved to 7-3-2 overall, 2-0-1 WCC.

Freddy Polzer got the game-winning play going, winning the ball near the center circle. He sent a pass wide right to Djordje Babic, who took a touch, looked up field and sent a cross-field pass to an on-running Berry. Berry took a touch to control the long-ball and powered a perfectly placed shot to the top right corner of the goal.

USD fell behind early when Gonzaga’s Mat Kintzle headed in a cross from Nick Ulowetz in the 19th minute. The Toreros tied it in the 70th minute after a terrific combination play in the final third. Aidan Marmion carried the ball down the right sideline and sent a pass to Babic in the middle of the field. Babic used a crafty turn on the ball to evade a defender, then slipped a pass to Ulber Perez on the left side of the top of the penalty box. Perez buried his shot to the left side of the goal for his first tally of the season. 

On Oct. 13 at home against Portland, Babic scored his first goal of the year and Thomas Olsen made six saves in net to help lead San Diego to a 1-1 double-overtime draw. 

Facing a 1-0 deficit after an early Pilots goal, Babic provided a perfect finish to the top corner of the goal on a well-laid pass by Miguel Berry in the 64th minute to level the score, 1-1. It was Babic’s first goal of the season and Berry’s team-leading third assist of the year. 

Berry, on Monday, was named the WCC Men’s Soccer Player of the Week. 

This Week: USD hosts UCLA in a 5 p.m. nonconference game on Sunday, Oct. 22. The game will be Seamus McFadden Night, honoring San Diego's head coach who is currently in his 39th and final season as head coach. 

Football

The USD football team turned in a dominating performance in the Oct. 14 Homecoming game, defeating Kentucky's Morehead State, 56-27. 

The victory was USD's 16th straight Pioneer Football League win, a new league record, and it was the team's 29th straight home PFL win. 

Freshman running back Emilio Martinez rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns, and senior defensive end Jonathan Petersen collected three more sacks, putting him one shy of becoming the Toreros’ all-time sacks leader, and he added two forced fumbles. Petersen, on Monday, was named the PFL Defensive Player of the Week. 

In jumping out to a 28-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, Martinez had already netted 132 yards rushing on six carries for two scores (20 and 4 yards). Junior quarterback Anthony Lawrence was equally effective with a perfect 6-for-6 for 86 yards and touchdown strikes to tight end Ross Dwelley (3 yards) and Zack Holland (31 yards). 

The Toreros (4-2, 3-0 PFL) were up 49-7 at halftime break with Martinez recording his third score from a yard out, and Joseph Binda (101 yards, nine carries) adding a 7-yard touchdown run about three minutes later. Lawrence connected with receiver Justin Priest from two yards out with 17 seconds left. In the third quarter, backup quarterback Reid Sinnett connected with Michael Keating for an 18-yard touchdown to close out USD's scoring for the day. 

Morehead State (2-5, 1-3 PFL) did have three passing touchdowns in the second half to cut into USD’s lead somewhat but to little avail as the Toreros improved their record against the Eagles to 11-0 in the all-time series. 

Petersen heads to Jacksonville for USD’s next game this Saturday needing just one sack to set the sack record. Currently with 34.5 career sacks, he is tied for second with Mario Kurn (2008-2011) and just behind leader Eric Bakhtiari's 35 (2004-2007). With two more forced fumbles, he now has five on the season and improved his USD all-time mark to 15. 

For the game the Toreros totaled 510 yards (326 rushing, 184 passing). Lawrence finished 12-of-15 for 138 yards and three touchdowns, while Priest (3-35, 1 TD) and Dwelley (2-16, 1 TD) led the receivers. 

This Week: The Toreros face the Jacksonville Dolphins this Saturday, 9 a.m. (Pacific Time). The game will be live on radio at ESPN 1700AM. 

Volleyball

The 18th-ranked USD volleyball team (14-4, 7-1) swept the Portland Pilots 3-0 on Oct. 14 inside the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Jayden Kennedy had a match-high 16 kills for the Toreros to the 25-21, 25-23, 25-19 West Coast Conference win. 

The Toreros held the Pilots to a .093 hitting percentage and had 54 digs to Portland’s 43. Kaity Edwards had nine kills, Addie Picha and Roxie Wiblineach chipped in seven. Picha also had eight total blocks. Kristen Gengenbacher had a double-double with 34 assists and 13 digs and Lizzy Tardieu had a team-high 17 digs. 

The win came two days after San Diego handed Gonzaga its first West Coast Conference loss of the season in a 25-18, 25-20, 25-21 sweep. Kennedy had a team-high 15 kills. Picha had nine kills on a .615 hitting percentage while Lauren Fuller had eight. Gengenbacher had another double-double, dishing out 37 assists and collecting 13 digs. Tardieu added a team-high 15 digs. 

This Week: The Toreros return to the road for WCC matches at Loyola Marymount, 7 p.m., on Thursday and noon on Saturday against Pepperdine. 

Cross Country

The USD men and women’s cross-country teams competed at the annual UC Riverside Highlander Invitational on Oct. 14, a meet in which they ran after Northern California wildfires forced a change of plans. The Toreros were slated to compete in the Bronco Invitational in Santa Clara, but the aggressive fires in the area made the air quality poor and, subsequently, signaled a change. 

The change of venue proved to be a strong move for both teams as runners achieved personal-best times. 

 “I’m proud of the team. They had to change race venues within 48 hours and the outlook that we had was purely about making it the best racing environment for our athletes to thrive in,” said Coach Will Guarino. 

The USD men’s squad placed eighth overall with each athlete running a personal best time. The women’s team finished fourth and had 15 earn personal best times. Leading their respective Torero packs were Liam Burke, 18 minutes, 20.5 seconds, for the men’s team and Hannah Rasmussen (17:41.9) for the women. Burke’s performance is USD men’s cross country’s best six-kilometer time.

Next Week: The Toreros compete in the Oct. 27 WCC Championship races in Oakland, Calif.

Women’s Soccer

Unhealthy air conditions due to recent wildfires in Northern California last week forced postponement of the USD women’s soccer team’s West Coast Conference game at Santa Clara on Oct. 11. A make-up day has not been determined. 

This Week: The Toreros, 3-0 in the WCC (5-8 overall) and winners of their last four games, play its final regular-season WCC games at home this Thursday night, 7 p.m. against Loyola Marymount and Saturday night at 7 against Pepperdine. 

Keep up with all USD Athletics news, scores and information by visiting the website and following the Toreros on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.