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Sept. 4, 2008

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BULLDOGS SUFFER SEASON-OPENING LOSS: Gonzaga University suffered a 4-1 season-opening loss at Creighton University last Friday. The Bluejays, ranked as high as sixth and no lower than ninth in any of the four major pre-season polls, grabbed an early 1-0 lead, saw the Bulldogs tie the match in the second half and then scored three unanswered goals. In Gonzaga's only other trip to Creighton and the only other meeting between the teams the Bulldogs topped the then top-ranked Bluejays 1-0 Sept. 26, 1999, on the final day of the Diadora Classic.

LONE MATCH SUNDAY AGAINST BEAVERS: For the second straight week Gonzaga University will have just one match this weekend, the Bulldogs traveling to Corvallis, Ore., to meet Oregon State University in the Stephen Hensor/Joe Zaher Memorial Diadora Classic Sunday at 2 p.m. OSU will meet Howard University in Friday's opener, and Seattle University and Howard will also meet on Sunday.

SCORELESS DROUGHT ENDS: The first goal of the season is usually no big deal, but in the case of Gonzaga University brought an end to a miserable scoring slump dating back to Nov. 2 of last season. Junior midfielder Tye Perdido, the leading returning scorer for the Bulldogs, headed in a Bryan Mullaney cross at 53:08 last Friday at Creighton University. That tally snapped a Bulldog scoreless string of 601:21. The Zags went the final 548:13 of the 2007 season without a goal after a 1-0 win over the University of San Francisco Nov. 2.

PERDIDO TOP ACTIVE SCORER: Tye Perdido's goal in the season opener makes him the leading active scorer on the Gonzaga University roster. He now has 8 goals and 20 points. Junior Ben Funkhouser is second on the active list in points with 9, and is tied for second with Bryan Mullaney on the active goals scored list with 3.

INAUGURAL STARTS AS ZAGS: Head coach Einar Thorarinsson's starting lineup in the season opener had a distinct veteran look to it, but three players made their Gonzaga University debuts. Redshirt freshman keeper Andrew Hickman from Tigard, Ore., freshman defender Mitch Boland from Villa Park, Calif. and sophomore midfielder Colin Harrison of Corvallis, Ore., who transferred from the University of Portland, made their regular-season debuts in the starting lineup. Two other newcomers - freshman forward Mitchell Weller of nearby Cheney, Wash., and freshman forward Colin Flynn of Douglas, Alaska - made their debuts off the bench.

THE BEAVERS: Oregon State University will be looking for its first goal of the season this weekend when they host Howard University on Friday and Gonzaga University on Sunday. The Beavers dropped a 1-0 decision to Oakland University of Rochester, Mich., and a 4-0 match to host University of Michigan last weekend. The Beavers return the co-leader of the Pacific-10 Conference in assists last season, Josh Cameron. Cameron tallied nine assists during the 2007 season. Between the posts for the Beavers this season is junior Michael Miller who has a 2.50 goal against average.

HOMECOMING: Sunday will be a homecoming for four Oregonians dotting the Gonzaga University roster. Two of them are from Corvallis, Ore., site of Sunday's match with Oregon State University. Junior defender Tim Muravez hails from Corvallis, redshirt freshman keeper Andrew Hickman is from Tigard, junior midfielder Bryan Mullaney is a Portland native and senior midfielder Nick Heinrichs calls Lake Oswego home. In addition, sophomore midfielder Collin Harrison transferred to Gonzaga from the University of Portland.

BULLDOGS VS. BEAVERS: Gonzaga University and Oregon State University haven't didn't play last season, the Bulldogs taking a 4-1 victory in the last meeting in 2006. That victory gave Gonzaga the title in the Stephen Hensor/Joe Zaher Classic and snapped a four-match losing streak against the Beavers. Gonzaga trails its series with OSU 16-7-2.

GAMETRACKER AVAILABLE: Gametracker, a function of web site provider CBS Collegesports, will be available for all Gonzaga University home matches and select Bulldog road contests this season. To follow Gonzaga University via Gametracker log on to http://wwww.gozags.com and go the Gametracker link in the schedule portion of the site.

TIME CHANGE: Gonzaga University's season-ending Nov. 16 match at Saint Mary's College has been moved an hour earlier to a 1 p.m. kickoff. The change was made to accommodate the NCAA Selection Committee deadline.

THE THORARINSSON TALE OF THE TAPE: Gonzaga University head coach Einar Thorarinsson is 110-103-20 in his 14th season with the Bulldogs. His overall record is 229-155-33 that includes nine seasons across town at Whitworth College. He picked up his 100th Gonzaga win in 2006 with a 3-0 home win at Saint Mary's College. After going 3-10-2 in his first season of 1995, the Bulldogs have had winning seasons in six of the last 10 seasons under Thorarinsson. His teams led the West Coast Conference in wins with a 14-4-0 record in 1997 and 12-4-2 mark in 1998, capturing WCC co-championships in each of those seasons. The Bulldogs were 9-5-2 in 2001, making their inaugural College Cup appearance. In 2005 Gonzaga went to the final match of the season with a chance to win the WCC title. He was accorded his third WCC Coach of the Year honor in 2005 to go with similar honors won in 1996-97 as he was the first coach in Gonzaga history to receive back-to-back WCC Coach of the Year accolades. He is the fourth winningest coach overall in WCC contests with 46 wins and is second among active coaches, Seamus McFadden of the University of San Diego atop both lists with 73 wins.