Men's soccer sneek past Gonzaga in WCC opener

By CHAD ALVES

The Bulldogs proved to the Broncos that a perfect preseason does not necessarily guarantee easy wins within the conference. Despite a valiant effort from Gonzaga, Santa Clara came up with another dramatic victory, proving once again why they are the nation's No. 1 team. Gonzaga, who beat the Broncos 1-0 last season in Washington, came into the game nationally ranked. The Bulldogs were not able to repeat last year's performance, as the Broncos came up with the big goal this year to continue their winning streak and maintain a strong hold on the nation's top rank.

"It's awesome that we beat Gonzaga," senior forward Shawn Percell said. "Especially since we've struggled with them in the past."

Santa Clara has proven to be a very strong second-half team this season. For the third game in a row, the Broncos used a late goal to produce a win. For the second time in three games, it came down to the contest's final five minutes before Santa Clara finally netted the game winner. In front of a good-sized home crowd, the Broncos gave their fans a little taste of the drama they are capable of producing. After a scoreless struggle throughout most of the game, Santa Clara delivered the big blow with just over three minutes left in the game.

Junior Brett Davis scored to give the Broncos the lead and ultimately the win over the Bulldogs, pushing the Broncos' record to 11-0-0 overall this year and giving them a 1-0-0 conference mark.

"I think we were playing not to lose rather than to win," Percell said. "We still got the clutch goal, but we are not peaking yet. We still have a ways to go to get to our goal."