Freshman Hurtado a proven leader for men's soccer team

By Gabe Taylor

In his first year with Santa Clara, freshman forward Erik Hurtado has taken little time to adapt to the college level and prove that he has the skills to compete with the conference's best.

Hurtado's interest in soccer began at around the age of six when his mother decided to get him acquainted with athletics. From his very first time stepping out onto a soccer field, Hurtado realized that his speed outdueled that of his teammates and opponents. However, his quickness was not the only reason he was drawn to the sport for life.

"I loved it since the first game I played," he said.

During his four years at Westview High School in Portland, Ore., Hurtado earned Oregon 6A Player of the Year twice for soccer.

His success on the field continued when, earlier this year, he helped lead his club team to the national tournament.

The Santa Clara soccer program spotted Hurtado when he was a sophomore in high school and was one of the first colleges to contact him. At the time, the Broncos were ranked third in the nation, attracting Hurtado to the school.

Although he noticed the extreme gap between the levels of play in high school and college, Hurtado felt more prepared in part to playing club soccer.

According to Hurtado, club soccer is more comparable to the collegiate level than high school soccer.

However, he still sees the game as being more physical and quicker paced at the college level; this plays to his advantage.

"No question, he is one of the most explosive athletes we have," said Head Coach Cameron Rast, commenting on how a player like Hurtado is hard to come by. "We haven't had a player that has done what he's done since Amaechi Igwe."

Igwe, part of the class of 2010, decided to leave after his freshman year to enroll in the MLS draft.

Rast, who recently signed a contract extension with Santa Clara that holds until 2014, will have the chance of coaching Hurtado through the rest of his time here.

"For me, to bring in a player like Erik at this time I think is just good for our program and I think it's something that is going to benefit the program," said Rast. "I think it's something he is going to benefit from."

Hurtado's knack for scoring goals is nothing new. At Westview, he led the team in scoring for the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

This season, he is tied with sophomore Eric Masch with five goals and is first on the team in total points with 12. When it comes to getting shots on goal, Hurtado is the team leader with 16.

"Anytime you can have a player score five goals and a couple game winners, you just know they're unique and special for the team," said Rast.

However, Rast would like to see Hurtado develop a softer, more methodical touch when shooting.

Finding the open man is also part of Hurtado's game as he has also picked up two assists over the course of the season, one of which came in a match at University of Portland. Playing in his hometown and in front of his family and friends, Hurtado assisted the game-tying goal against the previously top-25 ranked Pilots.

Rast admires Hurtado's competitiveness, work ethic and desire to go to the goal.

"Those make him a very dangerous player at any moment in the game," said Rast.

Moreover, Rast highlighted that Hurtado's ability to take a ball out of the air and be instantly explosive is another aspect of his game that makes him such a threat.

"The game can change complexion so fast with him," he said.

Although only a freshman, Hurtado holds an idea of what he wants to do later in life. Currently, he is enrolled as an undeclared major in the College of Arts and Sciences, but he is thinking that graphic design is a career path he would like to pursue.

"I want to design t-shirts or shoes for Nike someday," he said.

In addition to being in love with the sport of soccer, Hurtado also enjoys playing football and basketball. While at Westview, he took the court as the point guard of the basketball team.

With three more years in front of him, Hurtado is ready to take on whatever role necessary in order to help lead the Broncos to a league title and a shot at the national championship.

"However I can help my team, I'm willing to do it," he said.

Santa Clara defeated San Francisco 1-0 last Friday and will face Loyola Marymount on Friday, Nov. 13 at Buck Shaw Stadium at 8 p.m.

Contact Gabe Taylor at gtaylor@scu.edu or (408) 551-1918.