Bronco Briefs: Men's cross country wins Bronco Invitational

By Brian Betz

Men's Cross Country

1st place, Bronco Invitational

In what was the final preparation for the West Coast Conference Championship, the Bronco Invitational proved inspirational for the men, who took the team title with 37 points overall. The team finished 12 points ahead of second place Cal St. Fullerton, and 30 points ahead of rival San Jose St.

Senior Michael Helms' second place finish led the charge for the Broncos, who placed four runners in the top 10. Freshman John Hinman finished in sixth place, with a time of 25:56. His time surpasses the record for a freshman runner at Crystal Springs, which was last held by Helms who ran it in 26:20 in 1999. Senior Thomas Chapman crossed the line in seventh place, while junior Ben Gauen, senior Dominic Ricci and freshman Pat Green finished in ninth, 13th and 16th places, respectively.

Women's Cross Country

2nd place, Bronco Invitational

The 5,000 meter Crystal Springs course was no match for senior Kim Bates, who ran it in a stellar 17:44, setting a new school record for the course, en route to winning the individual title.

The Broncos took second, behind University of Nevada, out of 11 teams - including Santa Clara rival San Jose State - placing four runners in the top 20 finishers.

Junior captain Milena Basile finished 10th, sophomore Robin Bell finished 12th and sophomore Katie Hansen finished 20th out of 112 collegiate runners. Both the men and women have this weekend off to gear up for the WCC Championship on Nov. 2, which will also be held at Crystal Springs.

Men's Soccer

Gonzaga 1, Santa Clara 0

A 53rd-minute goal for the Zags proved to be the difference in a match where the Broncos outshot their opponents 8-1 in the first half. The loss marks the second in as many weeks for the team, and drops their overall record to 6-5-1, with an 0-2-0 mark in the West Coast Conference.

Junior forward Kirk Fonseca led the team in shots with four, while sophomore goalkeeper Kent Harkness made three saves in what was his third consecutive start between the pipes. Next up for the men is a date with University of San Diego in Southern California on Friday.

Women's Soccer

Santa Clara 3, Saint Mary's 1

Senior midfielder Aly Wagner's goal in the 67th minute allowed the women's squad to defeat Saint Mary's 3-1 this past weekend. Sophomore forward Megan Kakadelas opened the scoring in the 18th minute, before Saint Mary's tied it up going into the half.

The Broncos came out firing in the second half, as Wagner's goal put the Bronco's ahead for good. Freshman midfielder Micaela Esquivel capped the scoring with an acrobatic bicycle kick late in the game off a Wagner assist.

Santa Clara 6, San Francisco 0

The women stayed at home to face USF in what was anything but a barnburner this past weekend. Sophomore defender Jessica Ballweg opened the scoring for the Broncos, who outshot the Dons 29-3 en route to winning the match 6-0.

Kakadelas finished with two goals and two assists, and the team improved their record to 11-3-1 on the year. Like the men, the women travel south this weekend but instead face WCC counterparts Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.

Women's Volleyball

Santa Clara 3, LMU 1

The No. 14 Broncos cruised to their sixth straight win, only after dropping the first game of the match 30-28. Junior middle blocker Becky Potter led the team in the next three games with 28 kills, while junior setter Kelli Sousa set a career-high in assists with 72.

Senior outside hitter Cindy Hirsch also set a personal best in digs with 24, while her sister senior libero Chrissy Hirsch added 16 in her efforts. Freshman outside hitter Cassie Perret and freshman outside hitter Alyssa Lantz added 18 and 13 kills, respectively.

Pepperdine 3, Santa Clara 0

Coming off of Friday's win, 1,021 fans were in attendance to watch two of the nation's best compete in a perennial WCC showdown.

The women struggled against a powerful Pepperdine team, losing all three matches by scores of 30-25, 30-20 and 30-21. The Broncos took the early lead in the first game, before the Waves ripped off 10 straight points and gained momentum that would last the entire match.

As a team, the Broncos struggled offensively with a .193 hitting percentage, while registering 33 fewer assists, 32 fewer kills and 27 fewer digs than the Waves. Lantz led the team with nine kills, while Sousa finished with 30 assists.

The women return to Leavey this coming Friday to face USF in continuing WCC competition.

Men's Water Polo

Cal Poly 10, Santa Clara 7

In a match that was tied going into the half, the Cal Poly team pulled away in the second behind four consecutive goals that put the Mustangs up 10-5.

Junior utility Logan Gee led the Broncos with a hat trick, but it was not enough to overcome the second half deficit.

Santa Clara 11, Cal Maritime 3

In the win over Cal Maritime, Gee recorded his second hat trick in as many days, while sophomore driver Mark Oda and freshman driver John Greco each scored two. Sophomore Peter Moore was impressive in goal, registering seven saves in the victory.

Cal 19, Santa Clara 3

The second match of the day was rough for the Broncos, who lost to No. 3 Cal. Freshman two meters Whit Gilfillan provided the only bright spot with two goals. The next match scheduled is Oct. 26, as the Broncos host Pacific at West Valley College in Saratoga.