SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After going 1-1 on the Broncos' opening weekend on the road, the Santa Clara men's soccer team faces Massachusetts on Fri., Sept. 5 at 5 p.m. in the 2014 home opener. Then on Sun., Sept. 7, Santa Clara welcomes Northern Illinois to the Mission campus for a 12 p.m. kickoff. Preceding both men's games, the Santa Clara women's soccer team will take the field immediately after as part of a double header weekend in Buck Shaw Stadium.
"Massachusetts is a team that has been to the Final Four recently and can always be dangerous," said Bronco head coach Cameron Rast. "Anytime that you travel and get a couple games under your belt, you are always battling and looking for that first result. We expect a tough game from them."
Facing Northern Illinois on Sunday, Rast says the team looks to play with confidence. "NIU has been a traditionally good team in the last five years as well. They've done very well and have been to the tournament a couple times," said Rast. "This weekend offers us a good opportunity to be at home and to hopefully continue to develop our game in an environment we know so well. We look forward to both matches."
Santa Clara (1-1-0) is coming off of a positive opening weekend on the road. The Broncos came up big against Nebraska-Omaha on Friday, winning 3-2 in double overtime. With goals from Carlos Delgadillo and Benjamin Kucera, Santa Clara battled back after going down 2-0 in the first half. Edson Cardona gave the Broncos the win with a successful penalty kick to the lower right corner.
Most recently against Creighton, the Broncos faced a difficult challenge out of their control when they waited through a three-hour lightning delay at halftime. Santa Clara held the Bluejays to a 0-0 stalemate in the first half, but could not hold on to the momentum when the home team scored the winning goal in the 59th minute. After the win, Creighton jumped into the NCAA rankings at No. 8 this week.
Looking for the first shutout of the season, Rast stresses the importance of strengthening the defensive line. "One thing that we are really focused on this weekend is making sure that defensively we are organized and have good shape," said Rast. "Developing the relationships between players in the three varying position lines are critical to the game's end result. You have to be able to lock down games and be difficult to score on because one goal can be the difference. This weekend will give us a chance to test these goals. "
Santa Clara holds a .600 shots on goal percentage while attempting 7.5 shots per game. Starting goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh has eight saves on the season.
Santa Clara is picked to finish second in the West Coast Conference this season. The Broncos scored 21 goals in 2013, averaging 1.05 goals per game. The Broncos lost seven seniors from 2013. Edson Cardona is the top-returning scorer, posting three goals and one assist in 14 games during his freshman season.
Massachusetts is currently on a four-game road trip to start the season. The Minutemen dropped to 0-2 after a 4-1 loss at San Jose State on Tuesday. The team has been outshot by opponents 32-22 with opponents averaging 16 shots per game. Massachusetts is led by senior Josh Schwartz, who has one goal and seven attempted shots on the season. The team has been to the NCAA Tournament three times with the last appearance coming in the first round in 2008. They played in the Final Four in 2007, losing 1-0 to Ohio State. Devin O'Neill is the interim head coach after the passing of Sam Koch who headed the Minutemen for 23 seasons. Santa Clara topped Massachusetts 3-0 in 2004 and leads the all-time record 1-0-0.
Northern Illinois (1-0-1) is coming off of a 3-0 win over Quinnipiac on Sunday. NIU posts a .115 shot percentage while averaging 13 shots per game. Chris Paton leads the team with one goal, one assist and six shots attempted. Sunday will be the first meeting between the Huskies and Broncos.
Game Notes – Fri., Sept. 5 @ 5:00 p.m.
Massachusetts vs. Santa Clara in Santa Clara, Calif. (Buck Shaw Stadium)
Game Notes – Sun., Sept. 7 @ 12:00 p.m.
Northern Illinois vs. Santa Clara in Santa Clara, Calif. (Buck Shaw Stadium)
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