Sept. 23, 2003
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This Week: Rivalry Series and UMKC Tournament
Santa Clara's 7th-ranked men's soccer team will head out on the road for three matches this week beginning with a match against cross-town rival San Jose State. Tuesday night's match with the Spartans is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Spartan Stadium with three points going to the school whose team wins the match. Those three points will count towards the Rivalry Series Cup points that has become a yearly contests between the two South Bay schools. Currently the Broncos hold a 10-0 advantage following wins in the sports of volleyball, women's soccer, men's cross country and women's cross country. Following the match with SJSU, the Broncos will head to Kansas City, Mo., for two matches in the UMKC Tournament. The Broncos will take on No. 20 Tulsa on Friday afternoon at 12:30 p.m., and conclude the tournament with a 11 a.m. match against UMKC on Sunday. All times listed here are Pacific.
Santa Clara vs. San Jose State
The Broncos and Spartans have met 37 previous times in the two schools' histories, with the all-time record knotted at 18-18-1. SCU has won the last two meetings between the two programs, taking the 2002 meeting by a 2-0 score in Buck Shaw Stadium as well as the 2001 match by a 2-1 overtime score at Spartan Stadium. SJSU enters the match well rested and with a 2-1-1 overall record. San Jose State last played on September 8 when they posted a 2-1 double-overtime loss at UC Riverside. Johnny Gonzalez and Tim McKinney each lead the Spartan offense with two goals and one assist while Eddie Dominguez has taken the majority of the minutes between the pipes and has a 0.79 goals-against average.
Santa Clara vs. Tulsa
The Broncos and Golden Hurricane have met only one previous time on the soccer field with the Broncos coming away with a 4-0 victory in the Admiral Classic in Dallas, Texas on October 30, 1994. Thus far in the 2003 season, Tulsa is 6-2-0 overall and has a 2-1-0 record at neutral sites. Ryan Pore leads the team with 19 points, coming on eight goals and three assists. Terry Boss has taken all the minutes in goal for Tulsa and has a 1.19 GAA, allowing 10 goals in just under 757 minutes of play.
Santa Clara vs. UMKC
The Broncos and Kangaroos will meet for the second time in the two program's history with UMKC holding the all-time series advantage with their 1-0-0 record against SCU. UMKC handed the Broncos a 3-1 loss on day one of the Santa Clara adidas Classic during the 2000 season. The Kangaroos enter the weekend with a 1-4-1 overall record, having posted a 1-1-1 record at home. Drew Perkins leads the UMKC offense with his two goals and two assists, while Todd Dohlman has a 2.45 goals-against average, having allowed 12 goals in 425 minutes of action.
Last Week: SCU Wins adidas Classic
Santa Clara remained unbeaten with a pair of wins in the Santa Clara adidas Classic last weekend at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Broncos opened up their home season with a 2-0 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay on day one of the tournament. Sophomore Eric Irvine headed home both goals for the Broncos whose defense posted their sixth shutout of the year. Shutout number seven of the season came just two days later as the SCU offense busted out a little, defeating George Washington by a 6-0 score on Saturday night.
adidas Classic Honors
The Santa Clara University men's soccer team had four of its players named to the SCU adidas Classic All-Tournament team. Ryan Cochrane was named the Defensive MVP while Eric Irvine earned Offensive MVP honors. Goalkeeper Steve Cronin and defender Jason Pan also earned all-Classic honors.
This Defense Never Rests
It's no secret that the strength of the No. 5 Santa Clara men's soccer team lies on the defensive side, but just how dominant they have become coninues to bewilder opposing offenses. The Broncos have allowed only one goal in their eight matches thus far in 2003, posting a 0.12 goals-against average. Amazingly enough, the defense has depth as well. This was no more evident that in the Broncos' 6-0 win over George Washington. With the score reading 4-0 at halftime, head coach Cameron Rast pulled most of his starters in favor of the reserves. Much like the starters, the second line of defense played so well that George Washington was unable to get off a single shot in the entire match.
In the Rankings
The Santa Clara University men's soccer team rose two spots in both the NSCAA Coaches' and Soccer America poll, climbing up to No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. The Broncos hold the No. 8 spot in the Soccer Times poll and No. 9 in the College Soccer News poll. The NSCAA also produces a Regional Poll that the coaches vote on, which has the Broncos in the No. 2 spot in the Far West Region, trailing only the defending National Champions and second-ranked UCLA Bruins.
Around the WCC
Three teams were ranked in top-10 of the Far West Region by the NSCAA/Adidas coaches poll. Santa Clara, the highest ranked WCC team in all four of the national polls, ranked #2 in the Far West Region, behind the top-ranked UCLA Bruins. Gonzaga checked in at #8 and Loyola Marymount was ranked #10. It was the first time that Gonzaga has been ranked since 2001, when they spent six weeks in the poll.
Scoreless Streak Snapped - Then Re-started
Santa Clara's defense had put together a consecutive scoreless streak of 427 minutes dating back to the 2002 season. The streak spanned six games and the Broncos were 5-0-1 during the streak. That streak was snapped in the 23rd minute of the Broncos 3-1 win over No. 4 SMU in the LMU Fall Classic on September 7. Santa Clara gave up it first goal of the season 2003 season to SMU but rallied for the 3-1 victory. From that point on the Broncos have yet to allow another goal as their new scoreless streak is currently at 447:46.
Pair of 7's
Sophomore Kelechi Igwe and junior Will Weatherly currently share the points lead through the team's first eight matches. Igwe has two goals and a team-leading three assists while Weatherly has a team-leading three goals to go along with one assist. Each had a goal in the Broncos' 6-0 win over George Washington, with Weatherly also notching an assist in the match.
The First is Always Memorable
In the Broncos' 6-0 win over George Washington, four players tallied their first goals of the season, two of which were the first goals of their collegiate careers. Ryan Wolfe put the Broncos ahead 1-0 in the fourth minute with the second goal of his career. Tannen Wels made the score 4-0 in the 43rd minute with the first goal of his young career. Kirk Fonseca made it 5-0 with his first of the year and the fourth of his career. Defender Ryan Purtell concluded the Bronco scoring in the 84th minute with a one-timer off a corner kick for his first collegiate goal. Purtell saw limited action in 2002 before receiving a medical hardship year from the NCAA.
Up Next: At Home Against Stanford and Sacramento State
Santa Clara returns to Buck Shaw Stadium for a pair of matches against Stanford and Sacramento State. The Broncos and Cardinal will square off on Thursday, October 2. SCU and the Hornets will face each other on Sunday, October 5. Both matches are slated to begin at 7 p.m.