Men Survive Tough Road Trip

By Chad Alves

Their first game of the tournament was against the Clemson Tigers Friday night, and the contest provided the Broncos' most dramatic ending to a game this season. The Broncos gave up the first goal of this game when Clemson scored with just 23 minutes remaining. Santa Clara had not trailed in a game since their Final Four contest last year against Indiana. On the road against the tournament's home team, the Broncos definitely had their backs up against the wall. pStill trailing 1-0 with less than five minutes remaining, the Broncos' leading scorer, sophomore Anthony Chimienti, provided the first dramatic moment of the night. He tied the game on a goal that was assisted by sophomore Keith Burden and senior Eric Denton in the 86th minute, knotting the game at 1-1.

What followed was arguably one of the most timely goals the Broncos have seen in the past few years. With just 10 seconds left, Burden found the back of the net to shock Clemson and give the Broncos their first come-from-behind win of the season. Chimienti and senior Shawn Percell assisted on the improbable goal, and it capped a remarkable performance by the Broncos. "We were a little bit anxious before we tied the game up," Denton said. "But we never get too panicked or press too much because we are confident that we are going to score. That's just what we did against Clemson."

The Broncos next game, against highly-ranked Furman, was billed as the best matchup of the weekend. Both teams battled through a scoreless first half, but the Broncos again came up big in the clutch. This time it was senior Kyle Smith who had the big goal, keeping the Broncos perfect on the season at 10-0-0.

The Broncos will try to continue to build on their perfect season Friday when they open the West Coast Conference play by hosting Gonzaga. Kick off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., when the Broncos will try for their 11th consecutive win this season. Their longest streak was 12 straight in 1991."We expect nothing less than the national championship," Denton said. "To start off 10-0 for anybody is great, but this isn't where we want to be just yet. There are bigger things that we want to accomplish."