Nov. 11, 2000
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Freshman Kellen Gilmore (San Marcos, Calif.) spoiled senior night with his first career goal that proved to be the game-winner in Santa Clara's 1-0 victory over Loyola Marymount in a West Coast Conference men's soccer match Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium.
With the win, Santa Clara improved to 10-7-0 on the season and 4-2-0 in the WCC. The Broncos finished in third-place in the league, marking the14th-straight year the Broncos have finished third or higher in conference standings. LMU fell to 10-7-1 on the year and 2-3-1 in the WCC.
"I'm really proud of the way our guys battled after we lost at San Diego," said Santa Clara head coach Mitch Murray. "The USD loss was really a killer in terms of making the NCAA Tournament and our guys could have hung their heads and given up. We ended the season winning our last three games and coming within a couple of breaks away from second-place in the league."
The LMU contest was the final match for Santa Clara seniors Joe Ascolese (Chattaroy, Wash.), Brett Davis (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Michael Goehring (Fresno, Calif.). Each senior was recognized prior to the game and escorted to the field by their parents.
"Our seniors have really meant a great deal to our team this season, especially in the sense of providing leadership to our younger guys. Our program is truly better off because of their contributions over the last four or five years."
Loyola Marymount played a man down for nearly the entire game after Mark Lackey received a red card at the 1:07 minute of the match. Lackey received the ejection from the match after a physical takedown of Santa Clara sophomore Jamil Walker (Pittsford, N.Y.) early in the game.
"It was a scrappy game," said Murray. "The difficulty was, a minute in they received the red card. A lot of times, believe it or not, it is a disadvantage to the team with 11. It fires-up the team with 10. They have to dig in. They feel they have their backs up against the wall and they get all riled up."
Gilmore's goal at the 51:03 mark was nearly the exact opposite of a goal scored by junior Anthony Chimienti (San Jose, Calif.) earlier in the week against San Francisco. Gilmore took a pass from Chimienti on the near side, sidestepped a defender and blasted the shot into the near corner for the goal. Against USF, it was Gilmore who fed Chimienti for a similar goal.
"We are very excited about Kellen," said Murray. "We knew coming in that he was a player who we could have to count on this year. By being a freshmen, we knew he would have his ups and downs. But, I would have to say that his game has very consistent all year. He has worked very hard. He is very composed with the ball. We are very excited about the future with Kellen."
The NCAA Tournament field will be announced Monday. Santa Clara's postseason hopes became slim with Gonzaga's overtime win over Portland and UCLA's upset of Stanford on Friday. The Broncos have won five of their last six games and four of their last five losses have come to teams ranked among the top eight in the country.
SANTA CLARA (10-7-0, 4-2-0) vs. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (10-7-1, 2-3-1)
Date: Nov. 11, 2000 Attendance: 1057Goals by period 1 2 Tot ------------------------------- LOYLA MARYMOUNT..... 0 0 - 0 SANTA CLARA......... 0 1 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY: 1. 51:03 SCU Kellen Gilmore (Anthony Chimienti)
Shots: SANTA CLARA 15, LMU 7 Saves: SANTA CLARA 2 (Rusty Johnson 3), LMU 7 (Jerad Bailey 4, Dan Sheridan 3) Corner Kicks: SANTA CLARA 4, LMU 9 Fouls: SANTA CLARA 23, LMU 13 Yellow Cards: SANTA CLARA 4 (Michael Goehring, Brett Davis, Keith Burden, Joe Ascolese), LMU 0 Red Cards: SANTA CLARA 0, LMU 1 (Mark Lackey)
