USD Athletics Roundup: Football, Volleyball, Soccer, Cross-Country, Men's Rowing

The University of San Diego football team found the end zone on its first four drives and never looked back en route to a dominating, 38-9, season-opening nonconference victory against Western New Mexico on September 1 at Torero Stadium.

Senior quarterback Anthony Lawrence got the Toreros (1-0) going early with three touchdowns — one rushing and two passing — in the first quarter to give USD a comfortable 21-0 lead early.

Lawrence finished the day 25-of-36 with 254 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

The Toreros outgained the Mustangs (0-1) in total yards, 421-296, on the day and did significant damage in the run game. USD outrushed WNMU, 167-80.
 
Michael Bandy racked up 111 yards receiving, while Jojo Binda Jr. led the Toreros with 73 rushing yards. Emilio Martinez notched 51 receiving yards and 62 rushing yards.

The Toreros defense was dominant and kept the Mustangs out of the end zone during the first half. Kim Mahoney led the Toreros with nine tackles, including seven solo. For more on the game, visit USD Football.

Next Game: USD at UC Davis, 7 p.m., Saturday, at Davis, Calif. 

Women’s Volleyball

The nationally ranked women’s volleyball team split a pair of matches with two other ranked teams — Baylor and UCLA — in the Jenny Craig Pavilion for the USD Invitational.

Lauren Fuller racked up 17 kills and eight digs to help lead San Diego to a 3-1 home-opening victory against No. 12 Baylor in front of an electric crowd on Sept. 1 in the JCP.

Roxie Wiblin had eight digs and reached double-digits in kills with 10. USD's defense was excellent throughout the match. Addie Picha posted team-high six blocks, including two that provided set-clinching points in the second and fourth sets. Kelli Barry led the Toreros with nine digs and chipped in four assists. Laura Madill and Anna Newsome helped balanced USD's attack and contributed 20 and 18 assists, respectively. For more on the USD-Baylor match go to USD Volleyball.

Against No. 10 UCLA on Sept. 2, USD gave the visiting Bruins all they could handle, the Toreros were unable to complete the upset, falling in a five-set match. Fuller and Kaity Edwards registered 12 kills apiece to lead a balanced USD attack that included six players with eight or more kills.
 
The match, in which USD won the first and fourth sets, featured outstanding defensive plays by both teams with each side racking up 80 digs apiece. Picha led the Toreros with six blocks and USD finished the match with 13 overall. Barry was a major factor in the Toreros’ strong defensive showing, leading the team with 23 digs. For more on the USD-UCLA match go to USD-UCLA Volleyball.

Next matches: USD hosts Tennessee, 7 p.m. (both nights), Sept. 7 and 8, Jenny Craig Pavilion. 

Men’s Soccer

A tough, competitive week for the USD men’s soccer team concluded with the team earning its first victory of the season and the same for new head coach Brian Quinn in a 2-1 home win over Cal Baptist on Sept. 3.

Miguel Berry scored the deciding goal in the 71st minute when he took control of a loose ball near the top of the penalty box and tucked a right-footed shot into the lower right corner of the goal. It is the first goal of the season for Berry who led the Toreros (1-2-1) a year ago with five.

Earlier last week, the Toreros traveled to No. 8 nationally ranked UCLA and lost 2-0 on Aug. 28 and then fell 4-1 at home on Aug. 31 to No. 2 ranked Duke.

For more information about all three matches, go to USD-Cal Baptist; USD-UCLA; and USD-Duke.

Next matches: USD at Lipscomb, 5 p.m. (Pacific), Thursday, in Nashville; USD at Belmont, 10 a.m. (Pacific), Saturday, in Nashville.

Women’s Soccer

The USD women’s soccer team came alive offensively in the second half, scoring a season-high four goals, to secure a 4-1 win against Utah Valley at Torero Stadium, on Sept. 1.

USD (2-2-1) had trouble finding the net in the first half, but still held advantages in shots, shots on goal, and corners. The offense finally clicked in the second half for the Toreros, who finished with a season-high 18 shots and 11 shots on goal.

Madison Louderback started the four-goal streak for the Toreros in the 51st minute, after Utah Valley goalkeeper Brooklyn Nielson stopped her penalty kick, but gave up a rebound that Louderback finished to the right.

Milan Moses scored the second goal to give USD the lead in the 70th minute. Michaela Foster and Summer Mason tallied to complete the scoring. For more on the match, visit USD-UtahValley.

Next matches: USD hosts San Diego State, 7 p.m., Friday, Torero Stadium; USD at USC, 1 p.m., Sunday, Los Angeles.

Men, Women’s Cross Country

The USD men and women’s cross-country teams opened their respective seasons on Sept. 1, competing in the Cal State Fullerton-hosted Mark Covert Classic.

On the men’s side, the Toreros worked together in packs and had a strong comeback in the second half of the race to finish 11th in the 8K. Sophomore Jackson Pearce finished first for the men, coming in at 25 minutes, 56.3 seconds, to place 39th overall. Junior Patrick Bruce was not far behind in 42nd place, running in 25:58.2. Ethan Steiner, a freshman in his first collegiate race, was the third USD runner, finishing 25:59.9 with a strong surge on the back half of the course. Two more freshman, Nicholas Dinsdale and Marcus O'Leary, rounded out the top five, finishing 26:47.8 and 27:14.9, respectively. For more about the men’s race, see USDMen-CovertClassic.

The Torero women finished ninth as a team in its 5K race. Sophomore Hannah Rasmussen led the way by finishing with a time of 18:46.3 to place 42nd overall. Sophomore Molly Klein, 60th place in 19:03.3, and senior Zani Moore, 74th in 19:22.9, rounded out the top three for USD. Freshman Morgan Conn had a strong first race as a Torero with a time of 19:38.9 to finish 83rd. Cassidy Kuhn completed USD’s scoring, finishing 85th in 19:43.1. For more about the women’s race, see USDWomen-CovertClassic.

Next race: USD hosts USD Invitational, 8:30 a.m., Sept. 15, Mission Bay course. 

Men’s Rowing

Three-time Olympian Bryan Volpenhein was named Training and Technical Director for San Diego men's rowing, it was announced last Friday by head coach Brooks Dagman.
 
Volpenhein joins the Toreros after serving as the U.S. National Team men's coach for the past six years. He selected and prepared the priority boat for competition at World Cups, World Championships and the 2016 Rio Olympics.
 
Volpenhein is a three-time Olympian as a competitor and stroked the U.S. Men's Eight to a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He is a 10-time U.S. national team member and was elected the USRowing Male Athlete of the Year in 2002 and 2004.
 
"To have a coach of Bryan's caliber join our coaching staff at USD is a phenomenal blessing," said Dagman. "He brings a deep understanding of high-level rowing to our table. Few rowing coaches currently working in the U.S. also know what it feels like to train and win at the highest possible levels of the sport."
 
With the Toreros, Volpenhein will primarily be responsible for designing and implementing the training program, directing racing preparation and racing strategy, and collaborating with the head coach and assistant coach on the implementation and execution of all training sessions. For more about Volpenhein, visit USDRowingVolpenhein.

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