DURHAM, N.C. – Santa Clara continued its tough non-conference schedule Sunday, wrapping up play at the John Rennie/Nike Invitational Tournament against unbeaten N.C. State.
Santa Clara junior Carlos Montes (pictured) scored in the fifth minute to give the Broncos an early advantage. However, N.C. State responded twice, including Alex Martinez's go-ahead goal just after the intermission, and the Wolfpack held on to win 2-1.
N.C. State (4-0-0) remains unbeaten and was the only team at Duke's home tournament to win twice. The Wolfpack drilled Delaware 6-1 on Friday. Impressive, considering Delaware entered the weekend ranked No. 39 nationally in in the latest TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 48 Tournament Rankings.
Santa Clara (1-2-0) received seven shots from forward Erik Hurtado – just three shy of his career high – and it was Hurtado setting up Montes in the fifth minute to put the Broncos in front. Hurtado finished the trip with three points and 12 shots, both team-high's.
Following an extended training visit to Florida's Vero Sports Village, the Broncos went 1-1 on their two-game trip to Durham. Hurtado and freshman Ryan Masch found the net Friday night in Santa Clara's 2-1 victory over Duke.
Broncos return home to host No. 2 Creighton Friday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. SCU will then host Silicon Valley rival San Jose State Sunday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.
2012 John Rennie/Nike Invitational All-Tournament Team
NC State: Alex Martinez (MVP), Jon Ray, Gbenga Makinde, Fabian Otte
Santa Clara: Erik Hurtado, Larry Jackson, Ryan Masch
Duke: Sebastien Ibeagha, James Belshaw
Delaware: Mark Garrity, Ben Sampson