Oct. 2, 2003
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The 13th-ranked Santa Clara University men's soccer team picked up its third tie of the season with a 1-1 double overtime result against Stanford Thursday night in Buck Shaw Stadium. The tie moves the Broncos' record to 7-2-3 on the season while Stanford's record went to 2-5-2.
James Twellman scored first for the Cardinal in the 30th minute as he blasted a free kick into the upper right corner of the net from 20 yards out. The shot was nearly identical to one taken just moments prior by Twellman that sailed just wide.
Despite constant pressure on the defense, the Broncos were constantly turned away by the Stanford defense and netminder Andrew Kartunen. That pressure finally paid off in the 83rd minute when Matt Upton sent a free kick to the far post where Ryan Purtell headed the ball back in front of the goal to Kelechi Igwe who slid the ball past the keeper to knot the score at one apiece.
The play was a very tactical one as head coach Cameron Rast has just inserted Purtell a few minutes prior for his heading ability. The goal for Igwe was his third on the year, giving Upton his third assist in 2003 and Purtell his first.
"I was very happy with the way we came back and played," said Rast. "There wasn't much we could do on the goal they scored as it was a perfect shot, but we hung in there and put pressure on them all night. We had our chances to win at the end, but I was pleased that we were able to get at least a tie.
"Stanford is a much better team than their record might indicate," continued Rast. "They were the national runners-up a year ago and still a very talented team. I give them credit, but I also credit our guys for battling like they did."
It was a very physical match overall as 47 fouls between the two sides were called on the evening while six yellow cards were also assessed. Santa Clara out-shot the Cardinal by a 17-9 margin and took nine more corner kicks on the night.
Steve Cronin made three saves for the Broncos while Kartunen made four, including a game saving stop on Kirk Fonseca's shot in the first overtime that nearly went between his legs.
Santa Clara returns to action on Sunday against Sacramento State. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. in Buck Shaw Stadium. Sunday match will be the final non-conference regular season match of the season.