Men's soccer extends streak with victory

By Natasha Lindstrom

Junior midfielder Scott Sweeney and senior defender Matt Marquess scored the first goals of their careers to clinch Santa Clara's 3-1 win over Loyola Marymount Sunday afternoon at Buck Shaw Stadium.

With the win, the No. 3 men's soccer team extended their unbeaten streak to 13 games.

The Broncos control first place in the West Coast Conference with a 6-0-2 league record and a 11-1-4 overall record with four conference games remaining.

The victory marked the fourth longest unbeaten streak in Santa Clara men's soccer history, but Head Coach Cameron Rast and some of the players said they were disappointed in the team's intensity level at the beginning of both halves.

"The start of each half we came out a little flat," Rast said. "We need to make the game aggressive in the beginning."

Santa Clara had their first opportunity to score just minutes into the game. At the top of the box, senior Matt Hatzke directed the ball toward junior Aaron Clubb in the center. Clubb sent a pass to junior Jide Ogunbiyi, but Lions goalkeeper Patrick Lane came off his line to intercept it as the Broncos failed to capitalize on the situation.

In the 17th minute, Ogunbiyi launched a long-range shot to the lower corner that was saved by a diving Lane.

Later in the contest, senior Peter Lowry drilled a high shot that flew past Lane into the upper left corner of the net, giving Santa Clara a 1-0 edge just 23 minutes into the game. The goal was Lowry's seventh of the season.

It was LMU sophomore Wilkie Johnson who capitalized on a scramble in front of an empty net to score the Lions' first and only goal of the game. The sophomore blasted a shot past Santa Clara freshman goalie Kevin Klasila four minutes into the second half, tying the game at one goal apiece.

"I think in the second period we warmed down a little bit," said Lowry. "(The LMU goal) probably was a little luck, but it was a letdown."

When another corner kick left players scrambling, this time in LMU's box, Sweeney spotted an opening from 35 yards back and fired a low, swift kick into the lower right-hand corner to put the Broncos up 2-1 with less than 30 minutes left in the game.

"The ball came to my left foot. It just sat well for me to hit it ... and luckily it went in," said Sweeney.

The goal was especially gratifying for Sweeney, as he had only participated in three games in the previous two seasons after breaking his leg in the spring of his freshman year.

"It was an electrifying experience for everyone on the field," said freshman midfielder Jalil Anibaba. "To see his face light up was just amazing."

As the last minute of the game wound down, freshman Ricky Character dribbled past two defenders on the endline and passed to Aaron Clubb near the post. Clubb slid the ball back to Marquess who fired near the post to score the third goal with six seconds left.

"Even though we had a lead and we gave it back, we have some good mental strength and mentality," Rast said, pointing out that the last time the Broncos scored three goals was in their Sept. 9 win in Boston 12 games ago. "We didn't get rattled," he said.

Overall, the Broncos fired 15 more shots on goal than the Lions, forcing LMU's Lane to make eight saves, while Bronco goaltender Klasila was only forced to make two saves.

Rast cited midfielders Sweeney and Character as the stand-out performers of Sunday's game.

"When (Sweeney) went in, it really settled down," said Rast, adding that Sweeney helped get the team in the right position. "He did a good job defending and also added in the attack."

The Broncos will square off against San Francisco in an away game this Friday, then return home to face Saint Mary's on Sunday at 7 p.m. in their last home contest of the season.

Anibaba said the team will need to stay focused at all times to beat their Bay Area rivals this weekend.

"No matter the field, no matter what day it is, we've got to focus on the little things -- on passing, on control," Anibaba said. "No matter the game, no matter who we're playing, we've got to perfect that."

Contact Natasha Lindstrom at (408) 554-1918 or nlindstrom@scu.edu.