SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Ricardo Carrillo scored with :25 seconds on the clock in the second overtime to give the University of Portland a 2-1 West Coast Conference men's soccer victory over homestanding Santa Clara University.
For nearly 110 minutes – in front of a national TV audience courtesy of Fox Soccer - the two league rivals played even, but with time winding down Carrillo was able to knock in a rebounded cross, finding the bottom right corner of the net to give Portland (6-7-1; 4-3-0 WCC) a much-needed road win.
"I thought we had some good stretches and I think when we look at the stats it will be pretty one- sided," said Santa Clara head coach Cameron Rast, referring to the Broncos 21-12 advantage in shots. "But, in the end it's not about stats, it's not about possession, it's about creating chances and scoring them."
Santa Clara (8-6-0; 5-2-0 WCC) entered the week leading the WCC standings, but with the University of San Diego (9-6-0; 7-1-0) sweeping LMU and USF, the Broncos now find themselves a game and half behind the Toreros.
"It puts us in an unenviable positition where we have to win out to have control of our position, but it's not like this eliminates us, it's just a game," said Rast.
It was the 12th goal of the year for Evans, who rivals only Santa Clara's Erik Hurtado for the title of the league's most productive and dangerous offensive player. Hurtado generated chances all night for SCU, totaling six shots and consistently crossing balls past UP's goal.
Trailing 1-0 with just 10 minutes left in regulation, SCU freshman Ryan Masch took a pass from Ornstil and rolled it past Portland's Justin Baarts to tie the match 1-1.
The overtime sessions were, for the most part, void of any quality chances and it seemed as if the match would end in a draw. However, on the last chance Portland would have, Carrillo cleaned up a mess in front of the Bronco net to end it.
"It's always a great moment to showcase our ability on national television," commented Rast on the atmosphere surrounding the match. "I thought we played, and probably looked well enough, but we didn't come out with the result and you want to look great and get the result on television."
Sunday will be 'Senior Day' at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Broncos will be hosting Gonzaga University at approximately 2 p.m. (the second part of a soccer doubleheader with SCU's women).
