Men's soccer begins conference schedule
By Ryan Donough
The men's soccer team renews its quest for a West Coast Conference championship this Friday as conference play begins against Loyola Marymount.
The road to victory won't be easy for the Broncos, whose schedule includes San Francisco and Gonzaga squads that have both been ranked in the top 25 this season. According to Head Coach Cameron Rast, the rest of the conference will also present stiff competition.
"All of them have the ability to beat you, and it is going to be a grinding West Coast Conference this year," he said.
In recent years, the Broncos have come up short against Gonzaga. They hold a 1-2-1 record against the Bulldogs in the past two seasons. The Broncos will have to watch key Zag players George Josten, John Palladino and goalkeeper Vito Higgins. According to Rast, Josten poses the biggest threat.
"Gonzaga is playing well. They have gotten some good results and they gave us all kinds of trouble last year," Rast said. "George Josten is just a great goal scorer who can carry that team on his back, almost by himself at times."
Josten has been a Bronco-killer in the past, scoring the game-winner in the regular season finale last year. With the goal, he captured the WCC titles in goals and points with 12 and 28, respectively.
Although USF recently dropped out of the top 25, the Dons could threaten the Broncos and contend for the WCC title. Key players for San Francisco include sophomore forward Conor Chinn and senior forward Brandon McDonald.
"San Francisco will be very good. We have competed with them really the last four years, and they should be much improved," Rast said.
In addition to Gonzaga and USF, Rast said the WCC is strong across the board. Portland and Loyola Marymount have both caused problems for the Broncos over the past two seasons. During that span, Loyola Marymount owns a 3-1-0 record against the Broncos.
Santa Clara heads into conference play ranked fourth in the nation after a strong performance against perennially ranked UCLA. The Broncos defeated the Bruins 2-1 in an overtime thriller on Sept. 22., led by midfielder Peter Lowry, who impressed his coach by scoring the game-tying goal in the 85th minute.
"Lowry continues to score goals for us and is somebody that continues to be consistent and be clutch when we need him to," said Rast.
Still, the Broncos aren't getting ahead of themselves, Rast said. They hope to continue their impressive play in their first conference game against Loyola Marymount, and realize that any team left on their schedule has the potential to beat them.
"I'm hopeful that the talent we have on the team and playing well on a consistent basis will lead to good results for us," said Rast.
Should the Broncos continue to play well, an NCAA championship may be within reach. Rast acknowledges his team's potential, and hopes that a rigorous season schedule will prepare his talent to flourish in the postseason. "I think we are a very good team but I think it is very important for us to play well," he added.
Contact Ryan Donough at (408) 551-1918 or rdonough@scu.edu