Oct. 11, 2006
This Week For Bronco Men's Soccer
Santa Clara continues West Coast Conference play this week as they take on the Saint Mary's Gaels in a home-and-home series. On Friday, Oct. 13, the 17th-ranked Broncos tangle with the Gaels at 7:00 p.m. PT at Buck Shaw Stadium in game one. SCU then travels to Moraga for a 2:00 p.m. PT match on Sunday, Oct. 15 at Saint Mary's Stadium. Last season, the Broncos played two tight games against Saint Mary's winning 3-2 in overtime and 1-0 to sweep the season series.
Last Week For Bronco Men's Soccer
SCU had a succeessful trip to the Pacific Northwest on Oct. 6 and 8, as they tied Gonzaga 0-0 at Merlo Field in Spokane, Wash. and beat Portland 2-1 to earn four points from the weekend. Joseph Buttitta played two strong games between the pipes for the Broncos, allowing only one goal and making game-saving stops in each contest. On Oct. 6, SCU dominated much of the early play but could not capitalize against a Zags team that was looking for its first conference win. On Oct. 8 against Portland, Matt Hatzke netted his first goal of the season on a free kick, while Sean Danzeiser scored his third of the year to help the Broncos to the win.
Head Coach Cameron Rast
Cameron Rast (Santa Clara '92) is in his fifth season at the helm of the Santa Clara men's soccer program and has a 61-25-11 (.686) overall record and a 25-13-3 (.646) mark in West Coast Conference matches. He has led the Broncos to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons and his 2003 team advanced to the NCAA College Cup, where it lost a double-overtime decision to eventual national champion Indiana. After eight years as an assistant coach and four as a player, Rast has now reached the College Cup in three different capacities while at Santa Clara. He is already seventh on the WCC career list for league wins and is currently third (behind former SCU mentor Steve Sampson) all-time in winning percentage in WCC matches. Rast is assisted by Eric Yamamoto, Rusty Johnson and Tim Martin.
Next Up For Bronco Soccer
The Broncos remain in the Bay Area for the next two weekends as they take on the University of San Francisco on Oct. 20 after this week's matches against Saint Mary's. SCU hosts the Dons at Buck Shaw Stadium at 7:00 p.m. PT in the second match of two between the teams this season. Santa Clara won the first game 2-1 on Sept. 24 at Negoesco Stadium.
Series vs. Saint Mary's
The Broncos have had excellent success against Saint Mary's in the 37-year history of the series between the two schools. After splitting the first two games of the series in 1968 and 1969, the Broncos put together a 23-game unbeaten streak against the Gaels that stretched from 1970-1996. SCU has currently won eight consecutive games against Saint Mary's in the series, including two close wins last season. In fact, the past five games have been decided by one goal. Last year, Santa Clara won 3-2 in overtime at Buck Shaw and 1-0 on the road at Saint Mary's Stadium. The Broncos lead the series 32-2-2 overall.
Saint Mary's in 2006
Saint Mary's has hit a rough patch the past three games after a 2-0-0 start in conference this season. The Gaels defeated San Francisco and San Diego in the opening weekend of conference play to shoot to the top of the table. However, after tying Loyola Marymount on Oct. 1, the Gaels dropped two games last weekend to Portland (2-1) and Gonzaga (4-0). Carlos Diaz and Dylan Leslie have paced the offense for first-year head coach Adam Cooper. Diaz has scored three goals and notched three assists, while Leslie has scored four goals. Leslie was named WCC Player of the Week after notching a hat trick on Sept. 29 against San Diego.
WCC Leaders
Cameron Rast's squad has a number of individuals among the WCC's league leaders after 13 games in 2006. Senior Keith DeVey and junior Peter Lowry are tied for eighth in points with nine this season. The pair are also tied for fourth in the league with four goals each. With two game-winning strikes among his four goals, Lowry is in a tie for second in that category. Freshman Sean Danzeiser also has two game-winners on the year, placing him in second as well. Brian Martin's third assist of the year against San Diego on Oct. 1 has left him in a tie for sixth in the league in that category.
Broncos as a Team
As a team, the Broncos also find themselves near the top of the ladder in a number of statistical categories. SCU is second in goals (21) and third in goals per game (1.62) and points (55), while placing first in corner kicks with 93. SCU's corner kick total is 34 higher than the next closest team. The Broncos also have the second highest home attendance in the league with an average of 1403 fans through five home dates.
Igwe, McCarthy With U-20s
Santa Clara freshmen Amaechi Igwe and Stephen McCarthy are spending the week training with the United States Under-20 national team in Sunrise, Fla. The pair traveled straight from Portland to Florida on Sunday night and trained with the team on Monday and Tuesday. The U.S. will play a closed-door scrimmage against Haiti's Under-23 team on Wednesday before returning to the Bay Area on Thursday night in time for the Broncos weekend matches against Saint Mary's. Igwe has made five appearances with the Under-20 team this year, scoring one goal. McCarthy will be making his first appearance in a U-20 camp. Both players have appeared in all 13 games for the Broncos this season.
DeVey Eyes Top Scorers
Keith DeVey netted his fourth goal of 2006 against San Diego on Oct. 1 and the 18th of his career. The Hula, HI resident is within striking distance of the all-time top-10 in Broncos history. With one more goal this year, DeVey would vault himself into a four-way tie for ninth on the all-time goals list. With three more goals, he could jump all the way into a tie for seventh in school history.
Rast Closing In On Sampson
Cameron Rast currently has 61 wins at Santa Clara, placing him third all-time in that category. He is now just three wins behind his former coach, Steve Sampson, who earned 64 wins from 1986-90 on the Mission Campus. The all-time leader is Mitch Murray (1991-2001), who has 143 victories. Rast is the second-fastest coach in school history to reach the 50-win plateau, just behind Murray.
Buttitta Comes Up Big
Sophomore goalkeeper Joseph Buttitta continues to impress in his first full season of play for the Bronocs. The San Jose native earned his fourth shutout of the year against Gonzaga on Oct. 6 to help SCU earn a point on the road. His point-blank stop on John Reha in the final minutes of that game preserved the tie for the Broncos. Against Portland, Buttitta allowed only one goal late in the match to pick up his seventh win of the year. On the season, Buttitta has a 0.91 goals against average and is tied for second in the conference in shutouts with four.
Danzeiser Continues to Shine
Freshman Sean Danzeiser's strong play recently continued against Portland, as he netted his second game-winning goal of the year. Danzeiser got in behind the defense and chipped Portland goalkeeper Luis Robles from 30 yards for his third goal of the year.
Hatzke Scores
Matt Hatzke has been a key to the Broncos defense success and possession game all season with his solid play at left back. On Sunday against Portland, he also contributed offensively with his first goal of the year. The junior defender curled a free kick around the wall and into the net for the first goal of the game. The goal was the second of Hatzke's career.
Lineup Consistency
Despite a number of injuries and a tough early-season schedule, Santa Clara has had great consistency in its starting lineup. Through 13 games in 2006, eight players have started every game; Joseph Buttita, Matt Marquess, Jamil Roberts, Peter Lowry, Erik Ustruck, Stephen McCarthy, Brian Martin and Keith DeVey. The only three positions that have seen changes are right back, left back and forward. Amaechi Igwe has started 12 out of 13 games this year.
Balanced Attack
The Broncos attack has been very balanced in 2006 as 10 different players have scored goals and 14 different players have notched at least one point.
Iron Man
Broncos defender Matt Marquess has proven to be a rock on the back-line for SCU the past two seasons. After starting both games last weekend, Marquess has now played in 35 consecutive games for SCU. This season, he has stared all 13 games and played 1224 of a possible 1230 minutes. He leads all Broncos in minutes played. Jamil Roberts, who has also started every match, is second with 1209 minutes played. The pair have started every game together in central defense.
DeVey's Blog
Senior forward Keith DeVey is writing a weekly blog throuhout the men's soccer season for SantaClaraBroncos.com. His blog will include an insider's view of road trips, practices and everything going on with the men's soccer team.
Ustruck And DeVey - Last Ties to College Cup
In 2003, Cameron Rast led the Broncos to the College Cup in just his second season as head coach. Two members of that team remain as SCU attempts to make a return trip to the Final Four. Erik Ustruck was a freshman on that 2003 team, while Keith DeVey was a redshirt freshman. That team lost to Indiana in double overtime in the semifinals.
Under-18 Connections
Three members of the 2006 Broncos have spent time on the same roster in the past. Junior Jamil Roberts, freshman Jeff Cosgriff and sophomore transfer Brian Martin all played together on the U.S. Under-18 national team that won the 2005 Milk Cup in Northern Ireland. Roberts started all three games in that tournament, while Martin started two. Cosgriff did not appear in those matches, but did make one appearance for the U-18's in 2005.
Home Sweet Home
Buck Shaw Stadium has provided an excellent home-field advantage for the Broncos over the years. They have posted a 191-71-24 record good for an incredible .710 winning percentage. The team has lost only five home games in Rast's four seasons at the helm.