Broncos drop two in overtime
By Jack Ferdon
It was the same season-old story last weekend for the men's soccer team, as they dropped 1-0 overtime decisions to both the Universtiy of Washington and Cal.
The losses which Friday night and Sunday afternoon, at home and on the road continued Santa Clara's season long offensive struggles.
They created chances but couldn't put the ball in the net. They defended well but couldn't nail down the shutout.
Their record now stands at 4-6-0.
Not too good for a team that was thought before the season to be among the best in the WCC, traditionally one of the best in the country. But despite the Broncos' early season troubles, they still match up well with most of their league rivals.
Here's a look at the teams Santa Clara has to contend with, in predicted order of finish, excluding the Broncos:
San Diego. The No. 12 Toreros might be the hottest team in the country. They enter Friday's match against Santa Clara at Buck Shaw having posted a 3-0 victory over UCLA and a 6-1 thrashing of USF within the past week. The Toreros' record is 7-1, with the loss coming in overtime to No.25 Harvard. Running the table in conference play isn't out of the question with these guys. If they beat the Broncos at Buck Shaw friday night look for them to win the conference.
Loyola Marymount. After losing their first three games, LMU has reeled off seven straight victories (including one against No. 11 UCLA) and moved up to No. 16 in the rankings. Forward Arturo Torres is one of the best in the country, if the Broncos can't contain him they will suffer during their games with LMU. At this point it just doesn't appear as if the Broncos can win in a high scoring game of any kind.
Gonzaga. The Zags played tough in a 1-0 loss to a very good Cal-State Northridge team last month. They're off to a good start after beating Portland 1-0 last week, and traveling to Spokane always throws off teams from the big city, the rustic lack of traffic lights often throws offenses out of sync.
Portland. Even with the recent loss to Gonzaga, the Pilots have won five of their last seven, including a 1-0 victory over national power Indiana and a 9-2 pummeling of then-ranked Air Force Academy. The Pilots are a traditionally strong conference power and always play with a alot of pride, especially at home.
San Francisco. The Dons' 6-3-1 record reflects a very soft non-conference schedule that included such lightweights as San Francisco State, Cal State Stanislaus and Sacramento State, whom they tied. This is in strong contrast to Santa Clara's nationally ranked nonconference competition, and this should be plainly evident when they play.
St. Mary's. The Gaels' schedule makes USF look like they're playing in the Italian Serie A. One of their wins came against Dominican University, which doesn't even compete at the Division I level.
So where can the Broncos hope to finish? They can probably forget about winning the conference. San Diego will take it hands down and then go far in the national tournament. But Santa Clara should be competitive with LMU, Gonzaga and Portland.
It all depends on their offense. If the Broncos can figure out how to score a goal more often than every other game - they're averaging 0.6 goals per match - they'll have a shot at second place and perhaps an at-large berth in the tournament. Once they get there almost anything can happen, the Broncos could get hot and ride senior Rusty Johnson into the quarters, or they could score .6 of a goal and be home real early.
The Broncos will start their WCC schedule this weekend at Buck Shaw against the nationally ranked Toreros of San Diego as part of a doubleheader with the women's team. The men's game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m.