Friday Night: Santa Clara Men Host No. 24 LMU

Video interview with sophomore starter Gabriel Romero

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A streaking Santa Clara University men's soccer team will host a pair of crucial West Coast Conference matches this weekend at Buck Shaw Stadium, playing nationally-ranked Loyola Marymount University Friday night, then the defending WCC champs the University of San Diego Sunday afternoon.

Friday, Oct. 15, 7 p.m.
No. 24 Loyola Marymount @ Santa Clara Live Stats | Video
Sunday, Oct. 17, 2 p.m.
San Diego @ Santa Clara Live Stats | Video

In the midst of a six-match unbeaten streak, Santa Clara has been impressive for the last calendar month. The Broncos are fresh off a 2-1 victory at St. Mary's College, improving to 2-0-2 in the WCC and have moved into sole possession of second place in the league standings.

MATCH NOTES
*Ninth-year Santa Clara head coach Cameron Rast (98-50-32) is just two wins away from 100
*The Broncos are unbeaten since Sept. 19 (3-0-3), which includes four road games
*Santa Clara is 50-13-17 all-time at Buck Shaw Stadium under Rast
*Junior team captain Mykell Bates has either scored or assisted in four of the last six games
*The Broncos started six underclassmen vs. USF last Friday
*Freshmen Mark Daus, Keigo Kameya and Carlos Montes are the only Broncos to start in all 12 games
*SCU owns the all-time series with LMU at Buck Shaw 12-2-2
*LMU's last win against SCU at Buck Shaw was in 2006
*LMU is ranked 24^th in the latest NSCAA Top 25 Poll
*LMU was picked to win the WCC by the league coaches
*The Lions entered the week leading the league in offense with 20 goals in 12 games
*San Diego is coming off a WCC Championship season in 2009
*USD split a recent road trip to the Bay Area, losing to SMC 1-0, and then beating USF 3-1
*The Toreros went 8-2-2 vs. the WCC last season and won the league title
*Santa Clara owns the all-time series with USD 25-10-3, including winning the last meeting 2-1 at Buck Shaw in the 2009 season finale for both teams
*USD was picked to finish 3^rd in the league this season and sophomore forward Patrick Wallen was named to the preseason all-conference team
*UP NEXT: Santa Clara will play three straight on the road, @ USF (10/22), @ USD (10/29) and @ LMU (10/31)

TICKETS (BUY NOW!)
Season tickets for both men's and women's soccer programs start at $50 for adults and $25 for youth and seniors. Additionally, the 'Family Plan' provides five tickets to every home game for the sport of your choice.  For just $100, a family of five can watch every SCU men's soccer match. To buy tickets online click here, or visit the Leavey Center ticket office (500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, Calif.) or by calling directly at 408-554-4660.

LIVE COVERAGE
Fans can watch Friday night's match with LMU on Santa Clara's official athletics website (SantaClaraBroncos.com), with play-by-play provided by Charles Wollin. The video stream can be purchased for $7.95 per match or $29.95 for the entire season. Sunday's game with USD will also be streamed live, however without audio. Additionally, FREE live scoring for both games this weekend will be available on SantaClaraBroncos.com (see links above).

SANTA CLARA (5-4-3; 2-0-2 WCC)
The Broncos are playing their most meaningful games since December of 2007, when they made a run into the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Cameron Rast – three-time WCC Coach of the Year – adjusted Santa Clara's offensive approach after the team's 2-4 start and the Broncos have not lost since. The Broncos started the year playing eight of their first 10 games away from home. This weekend's games with LMU and USD mark the first back-to-back games SCU will play this year on their home field at Buck Shaw Stadium. The team is extremely young, starting as many as six underclassmen, including front-line stars Erik Hurtado and Keigo Kameya. Midfielder Brandon Zimmerman continues to be a leader in the midfield and Mykell Bates is having an impressive junior season, not only defending, but also finding ways to score off set pieces. 

#24 LMU (8-3-1; 4-0-0 WCC)
LMU plays USD Wednesday night in Los Angeles… No other WCC team has started the season by winning four straight. The Lions jumped into the NSCAA Top 25 this week and sit atop the league standings, four points ahead of Santa Clara and five points in front of the University of Portland. Artur Jozkowicz leads the WCC in goals (6) and preseason All-American Rafael Baca leads the league in assists (6). The Lions' offense generated six goals last weekend in a 3-1 win over Gonzaga and a 3-2 victory against No. 25 Portland. Friday's match will already be the third trip of the year LMU has made to the Bay Area. In late September LMU lost three straight, which included setbacks at Sacramento State 1-0 and at San Jose State 2-1. LMU entered the year as the preseason league favorite, as voted by the WCC coaches.

SAN DIEGO (5-5-1; 2-2-0 WCC)
USD plays LMU Wednesday night in Los Angeles… Toreros head coach Seamus McFadden – now in his 32^nd year – led USD to the 2009 WCC Championship, his sixth, and the team's first since 2003, losing in the second round to UC Santa Barbara. His 2010 team has rebounded from a slow start to win four of six, including a 3-1 win on the road at USF October 3. Preseason all-league forward Patrick Wallen scored twice in the second half of USD's 2-1 victory over Gonzaga on Sunday. San Diego has not won at Buck Shaw Stadium since 1999.

WCC STANDINGS (Points)
1. (12) LMU 4-0/8-3-1
2. (8) Santa Clara 2-0-2/5-4-3
3. (7) Portland 2-1-1/5-2-4
4. (6) St. Mary's 2-2/6-4-1
    (6) San Diego 2-2/5-5-1
6. (1) USF 0-3/2-7-1
7. (0) Gonzaga 0-4/3-8

SCU HEAD COACH CAMERON RAST
Santa Clara University alumnus Cameron Rast is in this ninth season at the helm of Bronco men's soccer. He has led his alma mater to five NCAA tournament appearances and three West Coast Conference titles. Six of his student-athletes have been named All-Americans and 13 have moved on to play professional soccer. A former All-America player on Santa Clara's National Championship team of 1989 and U.S. Olympic Team captain in 1992, Rast took over as SCU head coach in 2002 after eight seasons as an assistant coach. Under his guidance the Broncos won the WCC title in 2003 and claimed back-to-back conference championships in 2006 and 2007. Rast owns a 98-50-32 career record at Santa Clara and is 50-13-17 all-time at Buck Shaw Stadium.

QUOTABLE
"I always have to listen to country music before the game," says Santa Clara freshman, and Dallas native, Mark Daus. "Some people like jumping around with rock and rap to psych themselves up, but I like to keep a calm stature and take in some Texas country."  

"Definitely a big weekend coming up for us," says SCU head coach Cameron Rast. "This is a young group. It took us a while to get where we needed to be, but we are really starting to hit our stride."

SANTA CLARA TRADITION
1 National Championship
5 College Cup Final Fours
18 NCAA Tournaments
52 Future Professionals
10 WCC Championships
8 Seasons of 15+ wins
4 Teams ranked No. 1 nationally
13 Teams ranked in top 5 nationally
209-79-36 at Buck Shaw Stadium
186-117-43 vs. WCC all-time

UP NEXT
Three WCC road games to conclude the month of October, beginning Friday, October 22 @ San Francisco.