Sport Winning team X, Losing team X XXXXXXXXXXXXX --From staff reportsBronco briefsClose game, win boost confidence
By Gabe Taylor
The Santa Clara men's soccer team split a tight pair of West Coast Conference matches this past weekend at Buck Shaw Stadium, falling to University of Portland 1-0 and topping Gonzaga 1-0.
Sunday's victory snapped the Broncos (3-5-2) five match winless streak, although the team wishes it could have triumphed earlier in the weekend.
With one penalty kick coming in the 77th minute, the No. 21 University of Portland Pilots (6-1-1) erased Santa Clara's chances at pulling off an upset early in conference play.
Head Coach Cameron Rast acknowledged that his team played just as well, if not better than Portland, but that one small play can affect the result of a team's collective efforts.
"That's the game of soccer; you play well but in a moment's notice late in a game, you give up an opportunity that could cost you the game," said Rast.
Early on in the match, Santa Clara took a defensive stand, holding Portland to zero shots at the end of the first half.
The Broncos pressured Portland on the other side of the field, firing five shots in the first half. This included a header by freshman Erik Hurtado that the goalkeeper snatched out the air and a blast by sophomore Murphy Campbell that sailed just over the goal post.
"We created some good chances against a really good team in Portland," said Rast.
Following a scoreless first half, both teams came onto the field with an assertive demeanor.
Santa Clara was able to advance the ball to the 18-yard box but struggled to score.
In the 70th minute, the Broncos faced an unlucky turn of events when sophomore Mykell Bates committed a sliding tackle in Santa Clara's 18-yard box. The whistle blew and Portland was given a penalty kick.
Portland standout midfielder Collen Warner scored the PK to put the Pilots ahead 1-0 with about 14 minutes remaining.
Following the penalty, Rast moved a defender upfield to help on the attacking side, but Santa Clara was unable to strike and the Pilots held onto the victory.
In an attempt to seek vengeance, Santa Clara played host to the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Sunday, this time returning the favor to a WCC opponent. The match remained scoreless until sophomore midfielder Brandon Zimmerman capitalized on a penalty kick with 45 seconds left.
"It is a sign of a team that is improving and getting better to comeback and be able to produce another good performance and get the result," said Rast.
The Bulldogs created more scoring opportunities than did Portland, but Santa Clara consistently attacked the net to nearly double Gonzaga in shots, registering 17.
A strong effort from the defense and freshman goalkeeper Larry Jackson kept Gonzaga scoreless throughout the match.
Now that the halfway mark in the season has arrived, Rast feels that the team has finally settled down, particularly on the defensive side.
"Our backline, for the most part, has been much more stiff in allowing any kind of opportunity," he noted, impressed with the solid defense in the last four games.
Junior midfielder and captain Jalil Anibaba believes the offense has a few more areas to touch up.
"The aggression is there. The will is there. The commitment is there. We just got a couple more things we need to fit in our attacking third," he said.
After facing two WCC opponents, Rast and Anibaba both are confident that the team can compete across the WCC.
"It's about us getting our mentality right, and we believe that we can play with, and beat, anybody in conference," Anibaba said.
Santa Clara continues conference play on the road against the University of San Francisco on Friday at 7 p.m.
Contact Gabe Taylor at gtaylor@scu.edu or (408) 551-1918.