Men's soccer backs into tournament

By Jeremy Herb

Santa Clara men's soccer may have lost the WCC title, but they didn't lose a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

The Broncos received a first-round home match at Buck Shaw Stadium against Ohio State. The winner of that game will travel to Berkeley to face off against Cal, the team that eliminated the Broncos in last year's postseason.

The team gathered in The Bronco on Monday afternoon to learn their fate on the ESPN selection show, following a three-game losing streak to end the regular season. Despite the Broncos' No. 11 ranking a week ago and a record of 12-6-2, they needed an at-large bid in order to earn a place in the tournament.

"Anytime you aren't an auto-qualifier, you have a chance that you might not get in," head coach Cameron Rast said.

The Broncos were not among the first 24 teams announced in the 48-team field. Following the announcement of the first half of the draw, ESPN aired an interview with New York Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez, prolonging the suspense.

"(The wait) definitely made us kind of nervous because it took a while for them to call our name," junior midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy said.

Finally, with only 12 spots left in the tournament, the Bronco players roared when their name flashed on the screen.

Santa Clara's opponent, Ohio State, also received an at-large bid. Santa Clara has never faced the Buckeyes, who will travel the furthest of any team in the first round. Despite the distance, Ohio State isn't completely foreign to Rast.

"I know their coach, John Bloom, since he coached at Fresno State," Rast said. "They had a very tough schedule this year as well. It is going to be a tough battle with a lot of physical play."

If the Broncos defeat the Buckeyes and face Cal, they will have to overcome a five-game winless streak against the Bears, including a 1-0 defeat this season. Sophomore Peter Lowry said he hopes the Broncos earn the opportunity to face the familiar foe.

"I think the motivation is definitely there," Lowry said. "I've played Cal three times and lost all three. Everyone knows each other -- it's not a game you want to lose."

Rast refuses to overlook the team's opening-round match-up in lieu of a second round Cal rematch. Ohio State, with a record of 11-7-2, faced five opponents who received first-round byes and beat No. 5 UCLA, the one opponent both teams faced this season.

"Ohio State is a tough first-round opponent and their team is our only focus right now," Rast said. "They earned their right to play here and any talk of our team looking ahead to Cal just isn't the case. We have a tradition of playing in the NCAA Tournament by focusing solely on each opponent as they come. Ohio State is all we are going to talk about for the next five days."

The Broncos could have received a first-round bye in the tournament had they not faltered late in the season. The Broncos only needed a win or tie in one of their final three matches in order to earn a share of the WCC title.

"When we look at the position we put ourselves in, we were for sure in the driver's seat in the West Coast Conference," Rast said. "But I don't think they ever set their sights on just winning the WCC conference title. If that was a by-product of us playing well and winning games, great, but I think in the end, their goal is to win an NCAA championship."

The Broncos outshot their opponents in each of their final three losses -- by a two-to-one margin in two of the three contests. The Broncos' losses haven't stemmed from their inability to find the net, but their inability to finish.

"We've played well at stretches, even in the last three games," Rast said. "We need to particularly pay attention to trying to get behind defenses and be a little sharper in front of the goal."

The Broncos will benefit from having junior forward Keith DeVey back in the lineup. DeVey, the team's leading scorer, missed the final two games with a hamstring injury.

Rast said that Ballouchy was another one of the key players that would improve the Broncos' chances of traveling deep into the tournament.

"When we look at our team two years ago in the College Cup, Mehdi was the one player we were missing," Rast said. "He was redshirting at the time. When you speak about players who can win you a national championship, you speak about players like Ballouchy."

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Friday night.

Contact Jeremy Herb at (408) 551-1918 or jmherb@scu.edu.