2012 SCU Men's Soccer Virtual Guide
Photos from Vero Sports Village

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The storied Santa Clara University men's soccer program has been training on the East Coast this week in preparation for its weekend games at Duke's John Rennie/Nike Invitational Tournament in Durham, N.C. The Broncos will face tournament host Duke University Friday, Aug. 31 at 4 p.m. (PT) and North Carolina State University Sunday, Sept. 2 at 9 a.m. (PT).

Santa Clara traveled to Florida's central coast the morning after opening the season with Cal, and spent Saturday through Wednesday training at the historic Vero Beach Sports Village.

"When we set this up months ago, we expected it to be really hot and humid, but we did not foresee a hurricane," said Santa Clara head coach Cameron Rast on Tuesday. "It was a little bit wet Sunday, but the field drains really well and we were able to train twice on Monday."

"Anytime you can get on to a dedicated training facility that's dedicated to performance it's great. All the guys are in little apartments, close to the field, which has a really nice, brand new Bermuda surface. As much as we love (Stanton Field), it's great to practice on grass. We are being treated like a professional program and that is exactly the way we want our guys to feel."

LIVE COVERAGE: There will be live stats for each of the four games at this weekend's John Rennie/Nike Invitational Tournament in Durham. The Duke games, including Duke vs. Santa Clara Friday, will be streamed via live video for a small fee. Additionally, @Duke_MSOC will be providing in-game updates throughout the weekend.

SCU HEAD COACH CAMERON RAST:
* 114-59-38 career record
* 59-17-22 at Buck Shaw Stadium
* No. 2 all-time in WCC wins (60)
* Santa Clara Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee - 2006
* NCAA National Champion at SCU - 1989
* US Olympic Team Captain - 1992
* NCAA All-America Player – 1989 & 1990

LAST TIME OUT: In Bay Area Classic college soccer action, visiting California defeated Santa Clara 2-1 under the lights of Buck Shaw Stadium Friday, Aug. 25. It was the season opener for both schools. Leading 1-0 in the second half, Cal tacked on what proved to be the decisive goal when San Jose native Tony Salciccia converted a penalty kick in the 76th minute. Santa Clara answered moments later when Glenn Vass found the bottom right corner of the net, which tightened things up until the final horn. SCU benefited from a pair of terrific saves from senior goalkeeper Larry Jackson, and its offense had a number of chances to equalize in the closing moments, but the Broncos simply ran out of time.

"I think we saw what college soccer is all about," said Santa Clara head coach Cameron Rast. "I do think that neither team necessarily played their best and are a little better than what they showed, but this game was physical, had a high pace to it, and was a battle."

IN THE RANKINGS: Santa Clara is ranked No. 34 in the latest TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 48 Tournament Rankings. The Broncos have yet to appear in the NSCAA Far West Region Top 10 or NSCAA Top 25.

NATION'S #2 UP NEXT AT HOME: Following Santa Clara's weekend games in Durham, the Broncos return home to host No. 2 Creighton Friday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. On Sunday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m., SCU will host Silicon Valley rival San Jose State.

TICKETS: Season tickets for all 10 home games start at $50 for adults and $35 for youth and seniors. The SCU athletic department is also offering a season ticket 'Family Plan,' which includes five tickets to every home game for just $100. Fans can purchase tickets online (www.SantaClaraBroncos.com/buytickets), over the phone at 408-554-4660 or by visiting the SCU Ticket Office, located at The Leavey Center, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara campus, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WATCH FOR FREE: Fans can watch every Santa Clara soccer home game live on SantaClaraBroncos.com All-Access.

HURTADO PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN/ALL-WCC: The reigning West Coast Conference points-leader, Santa Clara Bronco senior forward Erik Hurtado, was named a 2012 Preseason All-American by College Sports Madness and was honored as a preseason All-WCC player. Hurtado has enjoyed a terrific collegiate career thus far, having drawn praise from the NSCAA as a 2011 All Far-West Region selection. He led the WCC in 2011 with 19 points and 85 shots as a junior. Hurtado has twice been named an All-WCC First Team player, along with earning WCC Player of the Month honors and three times being selected as the WCC Player of the Week. He was tabbed as the National Player of the Week by College Soccer News during his sophomore season in which he helped SCU win the WCC Championship.

PROVEN TALENT: Santa Clara returns eight final-year players: Erik Hurtado, Larry Jackson, Wes Culver, Murphy Campbell, Danny Maeda, Gabriel Romero, Takahide Kameya and Alex Fitschen. The first four players listed have each earned All-WCC honors during their SCU careers thus far. 

SCU ADDS NATION'S NO. 7-RANKED RECRUITING CLASS: Three of the recruits brought in by Santa Clara this season have spent time training with the U.S. Soccer's U17 Men's National Team Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla., including Jared Hegardt (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic High School), Ryan Masch (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine Prep) and Kendall McIntosh (Santa Rosa, Calif./Sonoma Academy). De Anza Force Academy stars Max Ornstil (Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd High School) and James Huffer (San Jose, Calif./Willow Glen High School) add to what TopDrawerSoccer.com ranked as the 7th-best recruiting class in the nation.

SCHEDULING UP: "When we put a schedule together it is important to make it demanding of great soccer from our team," said Cameron Rast, who has guided SCU to four WCC titles in his 10 years as head coach. "We have to push our group for them to reach their potential. To do this we look to play the top teams in the country. This year I think we have done just that." Scheduling top 20 teams is nothing new for Rast and the Broncos. SCU went 6-1-3 to begin the 2011 season, beating Stanford and 14th-ranked Cal, while drawing with No. 6 UCLA. The Broncos owned the WCC's best overall record (11-5-4) and upped their all-time mark at home to 59-16-20 since Rast was elevated to head coach in 2002.

MLS STAR RETURNS TO BUCK SHAW: Mehdi Ballouchy, former SCU All-American and No. 2 overall pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, was recently acquired by the San Jose Earthquakes. The Earthquakes play their home games at Santa Clara University's Buck Shaw Stadium.

"I feel very comfortable here," Ballouchy upon his return to San Jose. "I actually came back during the offseason and worked out with the (SCU) team. Just being around Leavey, Santa Clara, and the coaches was fun, because I remember I was in their shoes not so long ago."

Ballouchy was a First Team NCAA All-American while playing at Santa Clara in 2004 and 2005. He helped the Broncos advance into the NCAA tournament in both years, achieving a national ranking as high as No. 4 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). He was named the 2005 West Coast Conference Player of the Year and was taken No. 2 overall in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft by Real Salt Lake. He became the highest overall pick ever from Santa Clara and the sixth Bronco to be selected in the first round.

BRONCO TEAMMATES TAKEN IN 2012 MLS DRAFT: Santa Clara University teammates Mykell Bates and Brandon Zimmerman were taken in the Major League Soccer 2012 Supplemental Draft. Toronto FC selected Bates with the fourth pick of the second round (No. 61 overall). Zimmerman went to the Philadelphia Union with the 13th pick of round four (No. 108 overall).

2011 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:
* Santa Clara enjoys 23rd winning season in past 25 years
* Broncos post WCC's best regular season overall record (11-5-4)
* Team ranked No. 18 by College Soccer News (Oct. 4), also ranked nationally by NSCAA and TopDrawerSoccer.com
* 2011 NCAA Men's Division I NSCAA All-Far West Team: Erik Hurtado (Second Team), Mykell Bates (Third Team)
* Eight Broncos garner All-WCC honors; First Team: Mykell Bates, Brandon Zimmerman, Erik Hurtado. Freshman Team: Glenn Vass. Honorable Mention: Eric Masch, Connor Mitchell, Larry Jackson and Wesley Culver
* Seniors Eric Masch and Kevin Klasila named WCC All-Academic
* Broncos shutout nine opponents, allow league-low 18 goals
* SCU goes 7-2-3 at home
* Santa Clara wins five consecutive matches to close out the season
* Brandon Zimmerman named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's National Team of the Week (Oct. 2)
* Mykell Bates finishes the year No. 22-ranked pro prospect among seniors by TopDrawerSoccer.com
* Three Broncos named WCC Player of the Week: Kevin Klasila (Aug. 29); Erik Hurtado (Sept. 12 & 19); Eric Masch (Nov. 7)
* Erik Hurtado named WCC Player of the Month (September) – leads league in shots (85) and points (19)
* Cameron Rast moves into second all-time in WCC coaching wins (60-29-19)
* Santa Clara defeats Stanford (Aug. 27), ties then-No. 6 UCLA (Sept. 2) and tops then-No. 14 Cal (Sept. 16) – win in Berkeley is SCU's first since 1980

SANTA CLARA MEN'S SOCCER BY THE NUMBERS:
* 54    Broncos advanced to play professional soccer
* 57    All-WCC First Team honorees
* 31    WCC Honor Roll selections
* 28    Played on the USA Youth National team
* 23    Winning seasons in 25 years
* 19    NCAA Tournament appearances
* 17    All-Americans
* 13    WCC Players of the Year
* 13    Teams ranked in the top 5 nationally
* 11    WCC Titles
* 8      15-plus win seasons
* 7      WCC 'Coach of the Year' Awards
* 7      Played on the USA Senior National team
* 6      Academic All-Americans
* 5      College Cup Final Fours
* 5      Far West Region Coaches of the Year
* 4      Teams ranked No. 1 nationally
* 3      Players currently playing in the MLS
* 3      WCC Freshmen of the Year
* 1      USA Olympian
* 1      National Championship

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