Primary coach Joshua Bernateau was furious on Saturday afternoon after watching the University of San Francisco send a barrage of goals through his soccer team’s defense.
His head was molten red with anger that could barely be contained in his enraged face during an interview with Golden Gate Xpress.
Bernateau, who plays right back, complained that players not putting in their full effort was disrespectful to everyone, disrespectful to everyone.
“Disrespectful to me, to the coach. It’s disrespectful to your teammates. It’s disrespectful to the fans that come out to see the game,” said Bernateau. “It’s just really disappointing and disrespectful. As a team, as a player, you’re supposed to come into every single game with 100% effort and with that mentality of, ‘I’m playing a game, I want to win.’”
In the final match of the 2025 regular season, the USF Dons defended their home field at Negoesco Stadium against the Gators 4-1. Gators were 5-1-2 entering the match and both teams made the playoffs in the West Coast Soccer Association, according to the association’s Instagram.
There were a couple of issues the Gators faced, including communication, according to left winger Keitaro Wada. During the team huddles, players were talking about how teammates were silent on the field.
Bernateau said he puts his life on the line and said “I don’t wanna fucking lose today.”
He said another issue with the team was a lack of intensity that the players had during the match.
“Out of 22 players that come to the game that dress for a game, we have maybe only four or five that are putting 100% effort into a game and that can’t happen,” Bernateau said.
Bernateau has faced many injuries while playing on the field, such as scrapes on his elbow and bloody knees, showing the effort he puts in for his team.
“I’m going 100% to every single tackle, every single duel,” Bernateau said. “I’m giving all my effort, I’m putting anything I have into the game because I want to win.”
Wada scored the single goal for the Gators.
“I’m really happy. But we can’t win the match — so it’s the most important thing to win the match,” Wada said. “I’m not satisfied.”
Luis Cardenas said players like captain Sage Urbaez, international student Wada, striker Oliver Cortez and midfield Gira Marquez, the team had a variety of talent that had the potential to perform strong against an opponent like the Dons.
USF center back Nana Acquaye gave a shoutout to Dons goalkeeper Luis Flores.
“We had our keeper who stepped up real big today. We had Luis step up, which he played a different position today,” Acquaye said. “So big shout out to them.”
USF player Kalei Chin said it was a great match, but they could still improve.
“SF State played really hard, but at the end of the day, we could just string more passes together, get more goals in the net and defend a little better,” Chin said.
Bernateau also said the team should feel fortunate to step onto the field to play, whether during practice or a game.
“It’s a blessing to be able to play soccer,” Bernateau said. “We have that luck of being able to come to a single game, practice, being able to touch, run around.”
The Gators and the Dons will play in the 2025 West Coast Soccer Association Spring Playoffs for the qualifying men’s club soccer, along with the Sonoma State University Seawolves. The playoffs will take place in Irvine, California, from April 11-13.
