Soccer in First

By Ryan Mahoney

Four minutes into overtime against the University of Portland, Keigo Kameya notched the game winner for the Broncos, a win that now has them sitting at the top of the table in the West Coast Conference.

The Santa Clara Bronco's men's soccer team also beat Gonzaga University on their trip to the Northwest over the weekend.

On Thursday night, the Broncos faced off against Portland, with whom they were previously tied for the league lead. It took an overtime goal from Kameya to seal the victory for the Broncos after blowing a 2-0 lead.

Portland native and senior Bronco forward Erik Hurtado finally broke his career long goal-less streak against the Pilots in dramatic fashion. Hurtado scored two first-half goals, giving the team their 2-0 lead. "For Erik (Hurtado), playing at home and in front of his home fans, is super important to him," said Head Coach Cameron Ras. "Him being able to score two goals, I think, was a completion of some goals he had set for himself."

Kameya was equally impressed with Hurtado. "He's just been racking up goals and assists, and making our team look really good," he said.

Portland forward Steven Evans tied the game up in the 90th minute with a free kick from just outside the box.

"It was raining. It made it that much more intense," said freshman Ryan Masch.

"Portland was pushing pretty hard," he said. "I made a run to the left side and Hurtado found me with a through ball. The goalie was a little off his line, I shot it and it went in."

Rast said the position they were in  after the game was tied was unenviable. "We, mentally, had to climb a pretty big mountain just to get past that," he said. "I don't think for one second they thought we were going to tie this game, I don't think for one second they thought we were going to lose this game."

The Broncos could not celebrate for long, however, as they had to travel to Gonzaga and play a Sunday game against the Bulldogs on tired legs. 

"It was a rough game, considering we had to play against Portland in overtime on Friday night," said Kameya.

The difference in the match was Masch's 67th minute goal. 

"It was mostly Erik's (Hurtado) work," Masch said. "He slipped me the ball, I did the dirty work and put it away." Santa Clara won the match 1-0. 

The goal was the freshman's third game winner, also tallying the last goal for the Broncos in wins over Duke University and Stanford University.

The Broncos will have a week to rest before hosting the same two schools at Buck Shaw. The Friday match on Oct. 12 against Portland will be broadcast on Fox Soccer. 

"I can't wait," said Kameya. "I can't stress enough how important the student body when they come to our game and support us and be rowdy."

Contact Ryan Mahoney at rmahoney@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.