Athletics Roundup: Balanced Win for Football; Volleyball, Soccer, Sport Shorts

Behind 303 rushing yards and 314 passing yards, the University of San Diego football team maintained its perfect record in Pioneer Football League play with a 50-38 win at Dayton on a rain-soaked day Oct. 26 at Welcome Stadium in Dayton, Ohio.

The Toreros (5-2, 4-0 PFL) won their Division I-leading 33rd straight PFL game with the help of big days on the ground by juniors Emilio Martinez and Terrence Smith, who both turned in 100-yard efforts against the Flyers (4-3, 2-2 PFL). Martinez had a season-high 161 yards on 20 rushes and one touchdown while Smith scored three times on the ground and totaled a career-high 139 yards on 11 carries.

It was the first time the Toreros had two 100-yard rushers and 300 rushing yards as a team since October 2017.

While the ground game helped neutralize the rainy conditions, the leading offensive player in the FCS, Reid Sinnett, made due with a 314-yard day in the air to go with his three touchdowns. The redshirt senior connected with fellow senior Michael Bandy for a season-high 194 yards as Bandy had nine catches, two for touchdowns. It was Bandy’s third consecutive 100-yard game and fifth of the season. 

USD led 22-20 at halftime, but pulled away with four straight second-half drives resulting in touchdowns, three of which were scored by Smith.

Football Schedule: USD hosts Drake, Saturday, 2 p.m., Torero Stadium.

Volleyball

One week after recording its biggest win of the season at BYU to return to the AVCA national Top 25 poll at No. 22, the women’s volleyball team had its 13-match win streak snapped by host Pepperdine, 25-19, 27-25, 25-22, on Oct. 24, and then lost the first set of its Oct. 26 match at Loyola Marymount before rallying for a 3-1 victory.

Against Pepperdine, the result marked USD’s first West Coast Conference loss and first by sweep this season. Tough serving by the Waves kept the Toreros out of system most of the night, however USD still managed to hit at a .279 clip. Pepperdine collected eight aces, including one on match point against USD. Thana Fayad had 12 kills and 10 digs for the Toreros and Grace Frohling had eight kills.

Against LMU, the Lions won the opening set, 25-21, but USD took over with wins of 25-22, 25-21 and 25-15. Frohling had 12 kills and three blocks, Megan Jacobsen and Fayad each had 11 kills. Anna Newsome had 42 assists and nine digs.

USD is now 15-5 overall, 8-1 in WCC play.

Volleyball Schedule: USD hosts Pacific, Thursday, 7 p.m., Jenny Craig Pavilion; USD hosts Saint Mary’s Saturday, noon, JCP. 

Men’s Soccer

The USD men's soccer team, ranked 18th in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll, dropped its second straight West Coast Conference game, a 2-1 loss to Gonzaga on Oct. 26 at Torero Stadium.

A scoreless first half gave way to the Toreros allowing two goals 14 minute apart in the second half. Gonzaga's Theo O'Malley scored in the 53rd minute from 15 yards out, but USD's Chase Van Wey tied the game at 1 with his tally in the 66th minute. Van Wey took a pass off a header by Ross Meldrum and fired a shot into the far upper left corner of the net.

Gonzaga, however, scored the game-winning goal 90 seconds later. Demetrius Kigeya forced a turnover in front of the Torero penalty area and eventually worked his way around USD goalkeeper Matt Wiher for the 2-1 lead.

USD (10-3-1 overall, 1-2 WCC) outshot Gonzaga, 13-10, but only had six shots on goals. In the first half alone, USD had nine shots and three on goal. Miguel Berry had an opportunity that hit off the side of the goal post.

The loss to Gonzaga, after a 3-0 road loss Oct. 20 to ninth-ranked Saint Mary's, has the Toreros eager to get back on track this week.

Men’s Soccer Schedule: USD hosts Loyola Marymount, Wednesday, 7 p.m., Torero Stadium; USD at Pacific, Saturday, 7 p.m., Stockton, Calif.

Women’s Soccer

The women's soccer team experienced a couple of tough road West Coast Conference losses this past week. The first was a 2-1 double overtime loss Oct. 23 at San Francisco where the Dons scored in the 108th minute. The second game was a 3-1 loss at BYU, ranked fourth in the nation, on Oct. 26.

Against San Francisco, USD's defense did as much as possible and the team, overall, was aggressive in its play. Goalkeeper Amber Michel had a season-high 11 saves, including six saves in the second half to help force overtime. Milan Moses had scored the game's first goal in the 22nd minute to give USD the early lead. San Francisco's tying goal came in the 80th minute.

Playing BYU, for anyone in the WCC or beyond this season, has been a chore. Case in point when Moses scored the game's first goal for a 1-0 USD lead in the 12th minute, the Toreros were only the third opponent to record a goal against BYU this season. The lead evaporated quickly, too. BYU tied it a minute later and made it 2-1 in the 20th minute.

Michel kept BYU in check the rest of the first half, finishing the first 45 minutes with seven saves. BYU got its insurance goal in the 47th minute. USD had three more scoring chances in the second half, one by Halle Walls, one by Moses and a free kick by Michaela Foster to the middle of the goal box, but couldn't convert.

Women’s Soccer Schedule: USD hosts Pepperdine, Friday, 7 p.m., Torero Stadium.

Torero Sport Shorts

The men and women’s cross-country teams will compete in the West Coast Conference Championship races on Friday morning at Woodley Lakes Golf Course in Van Nuys, Calif. Pepperdine is the meet host. The women’s 6K race goes at 10 a.m., followed by the men’s 8K race at 11 a.m. … USD women’s swimming and diving team will compete in a dual meet at Loyola Marymount on Saturday. USD comes into this Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) on the heels of its first dual meet win of the season a 185-113 triumph at home against Pepperdine on Oct. 19. … The USD men’s basketball team hosts its annual Sixth Man Night program fundraiser on Friday, Nov. 1 in the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice. Longtime ESPN college basketball analyst and former coach Fran Fraschilla headlines and will do a Q&A alongside USD Coach Sam Scholl. The 2019-20 men’s basketball team will be introduced. A reception starts at 5:30 p.m. at the KIPJ’s Garden of the Sea and the program starts at 7 p.m. in the KIPJ Theatre. Tickets are $75 for young alumni (2009-2019) and $175 for everyone else. All event registrations include one ticket to the Nov. 20 USD vs. San Diego State basketball game in the JCP. To register or to be an event sponsor, click here … Basketball Coach Scholl completed his 2019-20 coaching staff recently by hiring Jerry Brown as an assistant. Brown, who was director of player development at Stanford, will coordinate the offense and assist with recruiting. … The men’s basketball team has added a Nov. 12 home game against Fresno State to its 2019-20 schedule, replacing a previously scheduled Nov. 11 home game against La Verne.

USD Athletics

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