SAN FRANCISCO – After taking an early goal at the University of San Francisco, the Bronco men's soccer team fought back to beat the Dons 2-1 with goals by Michael Gates and Mark Daus. The Broncos advance to a record of 10-8-0 (7-3-0 WCC) and the Dons fall to 6-10-2 (3-6-1 WCC).
"We played with great commitment this weekend," said Bronco head coach Cameron Rast. "We played a tough Saint Mary's team on Friday and came back on Sunday to beat USF in San Francisco which was tremendous. Michael's goal was critical as we were on our heels until that point. It was his first touch of the game and couldn't have been better. In the end, we weren't as sharp as we wanted to be vs. USF but gutted out a great result."
The match was tight but the Broncos edged the Dons in shots 14-12 and shots on goal 8-6 with Bronco goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh picking up five saves.
The Broncos return home next weekend for their final games of the regular season. The men will host conference leader LMU on Fri., Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m. and USD on Sun., Nov. 17 at 1:00 p.m.
In the 12th min. of the match, San Francisco jumped on the scoreboard with a chip shot to the right side of the net from Liam Kelly to make the score 1-0 for the Dons.
Four minutes later, Gates evened the score for the Broncos striking the ball past the Dons' goalkeeper. The score held 1-1 for the remainder of the first half.
In the 70th min., Daus challenged for a ball in the Dons' box but was fouled. The senior co-captain stepped up and buried the penalty kick to give the Broncos a 2-1 lead and the eventual game-winner.
The Broncos currently maintain a second place position in the WCC standings, just one point behind conference leader LMU.
Game Notes: A yellow card caution was issued to San Francisco's Tanner Smith and Joshua Smith … a yellow card caution was issued to Santa Clara's Michael Gates, Matt Steurer, Keigo Kameya … attendance was 406.