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SANTA CLARA, Calif.  – Santa Clara University's men's soccer team has moved up to No. 18 in the latest national rankings released by College Soccer News. The Broncos are also No. 24 in this week's NSCAA Top 25. Fueling SCU's rise in the rankings is a seven-match unbeaten streak, which will be on the line Wednesday night when they host local rival USF at 7 p.m.

Week #7 - Oct. 3, 2011-Oct. 9
USF (4-4-1; 2-0 WCC) @ SANTA CLARA (6-1-3; 2-0 WCC)
Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011 • 7 p.m.
Game #11 • Home Game #9 • Santa Clara, Calif.
Watch Live
SANTA CLARA @ ST. MARY'S (2-3-1; 1-0-1 WCC)
Friday, Oct. 7, 2011 • 4 p.m.
Game #12 • Road Game #3 • Moraga, Calif.
Watch Live

WEEKLY NOTES
* Cameron Rast is in his tenth season as Santa Clara head coach (109-54-37)
* SCU is 57-15-21 all-time at home under Rast
* The Broncos are unbeaten in their last seven and ranked No. 18 nationally by College Soccer News and No. 24 in the NSCAA Top 25 Poll
* Santa Clara (6-1-3) owns the best record in the WCC
* Brandon Zimmerman was named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's National Team of the Week
* Junior forward Erik Hurtado leads the WCC in most every offensive category, including points (14), goals (5), assists (4) and shots (45)
* The SCU defense has shutout six of 10 opponents this season and senior goalkeeper Kevin Klasila needs just one more shutout to break into the WCC's all-time top 10
* Santa Clara's storied rivalry with USF dates back to 1967, with SCU playing USF more than any other opponent (60 times)
* SCU has dominated the series with SMC, leading the all-time series 37-4-5
* USF has won three straight, all at home: SJSU (3-0), Gonzaga (1-0 OT) and Portland (2-1 2OT)
* The Gaels have allowed just five goals all season – best in the WCC
* St. Mary's will have the week off prior to hosting SCU Friday afternoon 

LIVE VIDEO BROADCAST - FREE!
Fans can watch every Santa Clara soccer HOME game online for FREE via SantaClaraBroncos.com with Live Scoring complementing the broadcast on the Broncos' all-access portal courtesy of StretchInternet. Charles Wollin will be providing play-by-play audio for Wednesday night's match with Portland. The game Friday will be streamed via pay-per-view on SMCGaels.com.

TICKETS
Tickets are available for purchase online at SantaClaraBroncos.com/buytickets or by calling the ticket office directly at 408-554-4660. Season tickets start at just $25 for youth/seniors and $50 for adults.  For the best value, purchase a Family Plan for $100. The Family Plan includes two adult and three youth tickets to each and every home game. Single-game tickets start at $5 for youth/seniors and $8 for adults.

GAME PROMOTIONS
Any child wearing their youth-league soccer jersey Wednesday night receives FREE admission with a paying adult.

HEAD COACH CAMERON RAST (10th-year)
Since taking over the Bronco men's soccer program nine years ago, SCU alumnus and Hall of Famer Cameron Rast has led his alma mater to six NCAA tournaments and four West Coast Conference Championships. He was a former All-America player on SCU's 1989 co-National Championship team and U.S. Olympic Team captain in 1992. He spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at SCU from 1994-2001. Last year, in 2010, his ninth year as SCU head coach, the Broncos won the WCC title. Rast has reached the 100-win milestone as a head coach and has moved into third place all-time in WCC coaching victories. The announcement of Rast being named the 2010 WCC 'Coach of the Year' marked the fourth time he has earned the honor. The Broncos advanced into the NCAA College Cup Final Four in 2006. He owns a 109-54-37 career record and is 57-15-21 all-time at SCU's Buck Shaw Stadium.

SANTA CLARA
The Broncos (6-1-3; 2-0 WCC) are on a roll and riding a seven-match unbeaten streak. SCU has enjoyed the benefits of playing eight of its 10 games at home. Following Wednesday's game with USF, the Broncos are on the road for their next three. What makes their current unbeaten streak even more impressive is the fact SCU played short-handed for the majority of September, as a number of key players missed significant time with injury. However, the steady play of First Team All-WCC senior Mykell Bates and the play of his backline teammates Gabriel Romero and Mark Daus, have been a big reason the Broncos have shutout six opponents this season. Erik Hurtado continues to spark an offense that scored twice against Gonzaga Sunday. Santa Clara's 17 goals this season is by far the most among any WCC team.

USF
The Dons (4-4-1; 2-0 WCC) have won three-straight and picked up two clutch conference wins last weekend at home, dropping Gonzaga 1-0 and Portland 2-1 – both games were decided in overtime. After a slow 0-3 start, USF has gone 4-1-1 since Sept. 9. USF and SCU shared a number of common non-conference opponents. The Dons lost 0-1 at home to Cal in their season-opener, tied Stanford 2-2 on the road Sept. 17 and defeated San Jose State 3-0 Sept. 25 at home. USF has already equaled its win-total from last season (4-12-3) and are positioned to improve on its 2-8-2 conference mark in 2010.

ALL-TIME SERIES WITH USF
The Broncos-Dons rivalry is rich in tradition. The teams have squared off 60 times, facing each other more than any other opponent. The series dates back to 1967, SCU's first year of soccer. The Dons dominated the series until the early 90's, when Santa Clara reeled off 10-straight wins from 1995 through 2004.  Santa Clara is 17-3-3 against USF since 1995, but USF holds the all-time edge in the long-standing series 30-21-9.

ST. MARY'S
The Gaels (2-3-4; 1-0-1 WCC) have the best defense in the WCC and after posting two shutouts last weekend, the Gaels are also off to a good start in conference play. Two of SMC's three losses were on the road to ranked teams; then-No. 17 UCLA (2-1) and No. 3 Creighton (1-0). Following that loss at Creighton, SMC rebounded to tie San Diego on the road 0-0 and pick up a 1-0 victory at LMU. SMC goalkeeper Doug Herrick shares the league-lead in shutouts (5) with Kevin Klasila. Herrick is also the WCC-leader in saves (55) and save percentage (.886). SMC was 10-8-1 last season and 6-6-0 in the WCC.

ALL-TIME SERIES WITH ST. MARY'S
Santa Clara has been lacing up against the Gaels since 1968. Holding an all-time record of 37-4-5 against St. Mary's, the Broncos have only dropped one match at home since the teams first raced onto the pitch.  The Broncos snatched both matches last season by a score of 2-1.

IN THE RANKINGS
Santa Clara is currently ranked No. 18 by College Soccer News and is No. 24 in the NSCAA Top 25 Poll. SCU has also been ranked as high as No. 24 by TopDrawerSoccer.com. The Broncos are the top-ranked team in the WCC. SCU is also No. 7 in the NSCAA Far West Region. Neither USF or St. Mary's are ranked nationally.

BRANDON ZIMMERMAN EARNS NATIONAL HONORS
Brandon Zimmerman, a senior midfielder from Pasco, Wash. was named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's National Team of the Week (Oct. 2). Zimmerman bended-in the decisive goal in Santa Clara's pivotal 1-0 victory over Portland in both team's WCC opener on Sept. 30. Zimmerman, an All-WCC honoree in each of his three seasons at SCU, anchors the Bronco midfield. The Portland victory was followed by a 2-0 shutout win over Gonzaga on Oct. 1.

WCC STANDINGS (pts)
Santa Clara 2-0 (6)/6-1-3
San Francisco 2-0 (6)/4-4-1
San Diego 1-0-1 (4)/4-4-1
Saint Mary's 1-0-1 (4)/2-3-4
Portland 0-2 (0)/5-4-1
Gonzaga 0-2 (0)/2-6-1
LMU 0-2 (0)/2-8-0

This Week's Games:
Wednesday, Oct. 5
San Francisco @ Santa Clara 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 7
Loyola Marymount @ Gonzaga 3 p.m.
Santa Clara @ Saint Mary's 4 p.m.
San Diego @ Portland (FOXSOC TV) 7 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 9
Saint Mary's @ San Francisco 1 p.m.
San Diego @ Gonzaga 1 p.m.
Loyola Marymount @ Portland 2:30 p.m.

DID YOU KNOW?
Cameron Rast needs just three more WCC wins to become the second-winningest coach in league history. Rast is 55-25-18 all-time in WCC matches and his .653 winning percentage is best among any active WCC coach.

PLAYING UP IN NON-CONFERENCE
Making the Broncos 4-1-3 non-conference record in 2011 that much more impressive, is considering who they played. The Broncos faced one of their toughest pre-conference tests in recent memory. Both UCLA and California advanced into the NCAA College Cup tournament's final eight last year, while New Mexico, Harvard and Stanford have been perennial NCAA qualifiers.

HURTADO/KLASILA NAMED WCC PLAYER'S OF THE WEEK
Through the first five weeks of play in 2011, the Broncos garnered three West Coast Conference 'Player of the Week' awards. On September 19, SCU junior attacker Erik Hurtado earned the honor of the second-straight time (Sept. 12 & Sept. 19). Hurtado, who continues to lead the league in most every offensive category, has emerged as an early candidate for the league's Player of the Year. His second award came after scoring and assisting in SCU's 4-2 road win at then-No. 14 Cal. Klasila drew recognition as the WCC Player of the Week on Aug. 29 after he shutout Stanford in the season-opener for both teams at Buck Shaw Stadium.

QUOTABLE
"It's something we've talked about, we have to be able to finish teams off," said SCU's Cameron Rast after Sunday's 2-0 win over Gonzaga. "You can't hold on to a one-goal lead every game, all the way through the season. You have to learn how to get more goals and lock things down … and Erik (Hurtado) has the ability at any moment to undo (an opponent)."

BRONCOS AND THE MLS
Not only does the San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS rent out Santa Clara's Buck Shaw Stadium to call home, the Broncos have had a storied history of future professionals wearing the SCU uniform. SCU was ranked among the top NCAA programs producing MLS talent, according to MLSsoccer.com. Santa Clara is tied for second all-time among schools on the West Coast, producing 17 players who have been drafted by MLS clubs, including Mehdi Ballouchy, drafted second overall in 2006.

MYKELL BATES NO. 8 PRO PROSPECT AMONG COLLEGE SENIORS
Santa Clara senior co-captain Mykell Bates was listed as the nation's No. 8 best pro prospect among college seniors according to TopDrawerSoccer.com. The online publication is showcasing Joe Mauceri's observations on 'Joe's Big Board', a listing of the top 100 prospects for professional soccer in the college senior class.

ERIC MASCH TABBED FOR LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Santa Clara University final-year student-athlete Eric Masch has been selected as candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The award recognizes the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. From the list of 30 candidates, a national media committee will select ten finalists for the 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in early October.

HOME SUCCESS
Contributing to the Broncos' strong soccer tradition is the team's home field advantage at Buck Shaw Stadium. Under Rast, the Broncos have gone 57-15-21 at home since he took over as head coach in 2002. The team is 216-81-40 all-time when playing at home, dating back to the program's first year of soccer in 1967.

THE WCC'S BEST TEAM (2010 CHAMPIONS)
The Broncos won the 2010 WCC Championship by posting a 7-1-4 conference record. No other WCC program has won more games (125) over the past decade or more WCC titles (5) than Santa Clara. Rast has been honored as the league's 'Coach of the Year' four times in his nine seasons and in the past three years, SCU is 33-13-16 against league opponents.

2011 PRESEASON AT US OLYMPIC TRAINING CENTER
Shortly after initiating its preseason training for the 2011 season, the Broncos traveled to Southern California for a week to practice at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

BATES, HURTADO NAMED 2011 PRESEASON ALL-WCC
Mykell Bates and Erik Hurtado were among ten student-athletes around the league named to the 2011 Preseason All-West Coast Conference Team. Hurtado has emerged as one of the nation's most dangerous scorers. The junior from Beaverton, Ore., was named a 2010 All-WCC First Team player and garnered National Player of the Week honors last November by College Soccer News (CSN). Bates was also named an All-WCC First Team honoree in 2010. The senior and three-year starting defender from Roseville, Calif., led the team in minutes played (1,852) as a sophomore and is serving as team captain for the second straight year.

2011 Preseason All-West Coast Conference Team
Name School Yr, Pos.
Mykell Bates SCU SR D
Roger Downes LMU SR D
Steven Evans POR SO MF
Doug Herrick SMC SR GK
Erik Hurtado SCU JR F
Artur Jozkowicz LMU SR F/MF
Ryan Kawulok POR SR D
James Matern GON RSO MF
Stephen Posa USD SR F
Patrick Wallen USD SR F

FINAL WCC STANDINGS (2010)
Place Team WCC Record (Points)/Overall Record
T1. Santa Clara* 7-1-4 (25)/10-6-5
T1. LMU 8-3-1 (25)/12-6-2
3. Portland 6-3-3 (21)/9-4-6
4. San Diego 6-4-2 (20)/9-7-3
5. St. Mary's 6-6-0 (18)/10-8-1
6. San Francisco 2-8-2 (8)/4-12-3
7. Gonzaga 1-11-0 (3)/4-15-0

*Santa Clara claimed tiebreaker and WCC's automatic NCAA Tournament berth

SCU SOCCER TRADITION
1 National Championship
5 College Cup Final Fours
19 NCAA Tournaments
52 Future Professionals
11 WCC Championships
8 Seasons of 15+ wins
4 Teams ranked No. 1 nationally
13 Teams ranked in top 5 nationally
216-81-40 at Buck Shaw Stadium
110-42-25 vs. WCC all-time
33-13-16 vs. WCC in last three seasons