Click here to see photos of the game by Denis Concordel
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Bronco men's soccer team (6-7-0) defeat the Gonzaga Bulldogs (7-3-3) with two goals by Harrison Hanley. The Broncos are now 3-2-0 in conference play and the Bulldogs stand at 2-1-3.
"Winning games like these are important if we want a chance at winning the conference and going to the NCAA tournament," said Bronco head coach Cameron Rast. "Gonzaga is a good team, it was a pretty even match up but I think we came out stronger in key moments which made the difference."
The Broncos will continue West Coast Conference play on Sun., Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. vs. the University of Portland Pilots (7-6-0, 2-3-0 WCC).
In the 15th min. of the game, Edson Cardona slotted a through ball past the Bulldog defense for Keigo Kameya to play a hard cross in the box but was punched away by Gonzaga's goalkeeper Ryan Caballero.
In the 18th min., Gonzaga's Nick Hamer broke loose in the Broncos' box passing the ball off to Conner Bevans to place in the net making the score 1-0 in favor of the Zags.
In the 36th min. of the game, the Broncos evened it up with an unassisted goal by Harrison Hanley. Hanley dribbled the ball into the Bulldogs' box hitting a low hard shot in the back of the net to make the score 1-1.
To start the second half, the Broncos repeatedly attacked Gonzaga's net picking up four shots and four corner kicks early on.
In the 12th min. of the second half, the Bulldogs created a promising one-on-one opportunity that was quickly shut down by Kendall McIntosh with a diving kick save.
12 minutes left in the match, Cardona and Hanley connecting for the Broncos' second goal of the match. Cardona sent the ball from the left flank to the top of the Bulldogs' box for Hanley to volley to the back of the net making the score 2-1 for the Broncos.
"I felt in this game we really started to connect offensively," said Hanley. "We were able to get the ball forward quickly and sustain the attack. When we're able to do that, we're able to create more opportunities and put the ball in the back of the net."
Game Notes: A yellow card caution was issued to Gonzaga's Andrew Owenson … a yellow card caution was issued to Santa Clara's Cesar Rocha … attendance was 630.