1966
The Dons under Negoesco made the NCAA semifinals for the first time since the tournament started in 1959. Michigan State, Army, and Long Island University completed the soccer "final four" in Berkeley.
Negoesco and his Dons met Army in the semifinal game at wet and foggy Memorial Stadium. The field was a mess, forcing many of the West Point booters shot attempts to sail off target. Negoesco's talented Dons, who won their two previous games in the mud, were better prepared.
Second half goals by Luis Sagastume and Sandor Hites gave the Dons a 2-0 victory, with Olympian Mike Ivanow recording the shutout.
In improved weather conditions the following day, USF faced Long Island University, upset winners in the semifinal round. LIU took Michigan State into overtime where they triumphed 6-5 on corner kicks. Led by an outstanding effort by Sandor Hites, the Dons scored a record five goals enroute to a 5-2 win over LIU and USF's first NCAA title. Hites accounted for three of the five Dons' goals and was named the tournament's outstanding offensive player, with four goals in USF's two contests. It was the first of USF's four NCAA crowns under Negoesco, as the Hilltoppers finished 11-0-1.
1975
USF's speed and finesse made the Dons the number one team in the country in 1975. They had to prove it against a strong final four-team field in Edwardsville, Illinois that included host SIU-Edwardsville, Brown, and defending national champion Howard University.
The Dons had their hands full in the semifinal contest against a tenacious Brown University pulling out a 3-2 decision in triple overtime. Forward Greg McKeown set up the Dons' gamewinner with a pinpoint pass to a surprised and open Mal Roche who scored from ten yards to send the Dons to the title contest.
USF was faced with the challenge of taking on the host team, SIU-Edwardsville for the championship. The Cougars were coming off a win over Howard University that propelled them into the fray.
The Dons were not intimidated as they walked off with the championship by a 4-0 count. USF started the scoring just 6:24 into the match, as lanky junior Greg McKeown headed home a Roche cross. Senior Paul Korn, an eventual draftee of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, also scored on a pass from Roche just fifteen minutes later. Victor Arbelaez, another senior, would close out the first half scoring to give the Dons a 3-0 halftime cushion.
Even Southern Illinois' hometown fans had nothing but praise for the finesse game that USF displayed in the first half. USF did not let up in the second stanza, with sophomore sensation Andy Atuegbu scoring the half's only goal on a pass from Kjell Tvedt. The Nigerian sensation was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Charles Gould of the St. Louis Globe Democrat summed it up best: "If the mighty Dons from the banks of San Francisco Bay are not the best college soccer team to win the NCAA Division I Soccer Championships, then they have to be rated right near the top."
1976
After winning a national championship, the single most difficult task is living up to an established reputation, and more specifically, successfully defending that championship. That situation faced Coach Steve Negoesco and his Dons in 1976.
USF's road to a second consecutive NCAA Division I Soccer Championship became a long and winding one that began one night in South San Francisco and ended in the subfreezing temperatures of Philadelphia's Franklin Field.
The Dons arrived in Philadelphia as the underdog of the four teams. Due to their unblemished mark, Clemson topped all the rankings with Indiana a close second. Hartwick and USF rounded out the final four.
The Dons again employed their new defense to shut off the finesse of Clemson in the semifinals. Behind the second half goal of John Brooks, USF went on to a 1-0 win over the top-ranked Tigers.
The next day goalie Peter Arnautoff led the defense to still another shutout, the fifth straight for USF, as Dons successfully defended their championship with 1-0 victory over another undefeated squad, Indiana.
As was the case in the 1975 tournament, the most decisive player on the field was All-American Andy Atuegbu. With 35 minutes elapsed in the contest, he took the ball at midfield and dribbled up the left side, and unleashed one of his patented cannonball shots perfectly into the top right corner. The 20-yard blast brought USF the 1976 NCAA Division I Championship. Atuegbu was selected the tournament's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year.
1980
When Fidelis Atuegbu blasted a shot just inside the right post to clinch the 1980 championship for USF it kept alive a family tradition. In 1976, it was another Atuegbu who made that magic happen when Andy brought Indiana down. The win marked the third time in five years USF had beaten the Hoosiers in championship play and gave USF its fourth title in eight years.
The Hilltoppers began their drive to the National Championship by capturing the Pacific Soccer Conference crown, which had spent a one year vacation at Santa Clara. The Dons claimed the league crown with stretch drive victories over San Jose (3-1), Santa Clara (3-0) and Fresno State (4-1). Entering post-season competition with a 19-0-2 record and the #1 ranking in the nation, the Dons met UCLA for the Far West Championship and won. The quarterfinals meant long time foe St. Louis. In 19 years, the Midwesterners had stopped Coach Negoesco six out of seven times; but not this year.....USF 3-St. Louis 2.
It was onto the Sunshine State and a meeting with Alabama A&M, ranked #2 and with basically the same team that demolished the Dons in 1979, 4-1. Despite a one-zip half time score, with the Green and Gold down, late goals by Luis Felipe Magalhaes and Bjorn Tronstad pulled out the win and it was on to the title game.
For pure excitement and an improbable turn of events, there has never been a game quite like the 1980 championship. Indiana played a high pressure defense in the first half and it worked. The Dons were down 2-0 at the half, but this team had a habit of fighting back. But USF had a strong point..... endurance. The team thrived on pressure. It brought out performance. Steve Negoesco knew his players wouldn't quit and fought to a 3-3 tie at the end of regulation.
Fidelis Atuegbu was fresh and Steve knew that he had the leg and bang .....at 98:17 the game was history. The title once again belonged to the boys from the City by the Bay.
