SANTA CLARA, Calif. – San Francisco scored with one minute to play, knocking off homestanding Santa Clara on Sunday night 2-1. It was the West Coast Conference opener for both schools.
The final minutes produced all three goals. David Garrett's breakaway score was the decider with 88:13 showing on the clock.
The Dons (3-9; 1-0 WCC) were the preseason favorites to win the WCC but came in having lost seven straight. USF was out-shot 17-4 on the night but still found a way to win.
"Anytime you turn to conference, everybody has second-life," said Santa Clara head coach Cameron Rast. "We knew that coming in. We knew (USF) would play deep and look to counter, which they did. They did a good job in a couple moments in the second half and that became the difference in the match."
The biggest moments all happened as time was winding down. First, USF's Santiago Digiuseppe was set up nicely by his teammates on a crossing ball, allowing him a clear shot in close, which put the Dons up 1-0 in the 82nd minute.
In a stunning turn, SCU generated a penalty kick goal off the foot of Max Ornstil just moments later. However, it would be Digiuseppe on the distrubuting end as time ticked away, sending a deep pass to Garrett, who was wide-open and executed on the run.
Santa Clara (5-7; 0-1 WCC) owned the huge 13-shot advantage – which stood at 9-0 at the half.
"We are disappointed, we believe we are the better team, and played better futbol tonight," said Rast. "In the end, we weren't clinical in and around the box. That is where you win games."
