Meianna Oeser
Staff Writer
The Dons ended their season with a resounding 3-0 shutout victory over the Pacific Tigers last Saturday afternoon. On a special Senior Day that spotlighted USF’s four seniors playing their last col- legiate game, the Dons triumphed with key contributions from the team’s veter- ans as well as its freshmen.
USF (7-10-3, 3-5-1 WCC) was the dominant team throughout the match, applying steady pressure to the Tiger defense. The Dons bombarded Pacific with 31 shots, while the oppo- sition came up with only seven.
San Francisco broke through early in the first half, when freshman defender Allison Arriola sent a pass to senior midfielder Mackenzie Krieser in the the 17th minute. Krieser proceeded to fire a shot out of the Pacific goalkeeper Melissa Ma’s reach for a 1-0 lead. The goal was a fitting finale to Krieser’s highly productive career at USF, and was her 20th goal in the last four years.
The Dons struck again in the 35th minute, when junior forward Alex Alugas delivered a timely cross to freshman midfielder Camille Wil- son, who cut towards the goal and launched a shot into the goal to ex- tend the lead 2-0 and earn her first collegiate goal.
USF came out in the second half with all the momentum, and sealed the game with their final goal in the 75th minute when freshman forward Maddy Glaser sent the ball into the box following a free kick. Freshman forward Carissa Martine tracked it down and touched it into the goal for a commanding 3-0 advantage.
Senior goalkeeper Celia Pellegrini had her first start in goal of the sea- son and recorded two saves, including one in the final minute of the game to preserve the 3-0 score.
Krieser, Pellegrini, Jaciara Mello and Abigail Phillips all played their last game, and each was honored and posed for pictures with their families before the game.
This season, USF improved upon its 6-10-4 record from 2013, and discov- ered newfound offensive success late in the year, scoring seven goals over the final three games. The Dons finished their 2014 campaign ranked seventh in the competitive West Coast Conference.
“We lost a lot of tight games and soccer is a cruel sport and we know that,” head coach Jim Millinder told usfdons.com. “I see the big picture and the big picture looks bright.”
