SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After shutting out two opponents at home last weekend, the Santa Clara men's soccer team hits the road for a three-match road swing starting at No. 1 UCLA on Fri., Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. Then the Broncos face UC Riverside on Sun., Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. Live stats will be available for both matches.
"We want to focus on how we approach and carry out the game plan," said Santa Clara head coach Cameron Rast. "I think we learned a lot from our tests last weekend and from the Creighton game on the road. We played great for 45 minutes and then kind of unraveled at the end. Our challenge now is to make sure we are consistent for the full 90 minutes."
Against the No. 1 team in the country on Friday, Rast says the Broncos will look to disrupt the Bruins with high pressure while staying well organized. "If we can stay organized, apply good pressure and gain confidence as the game goes on, we are going to have chances to compete for goal scoring opportunities and win the game," Rast said. "UCLA is a good team and it's going to be a great test for our guys."
Santa Clara is coming off of a positive opening weekend at home with a 3-1-0 record on the young season. Freshman Carlos Delgadillo leads the team with two goals and five points after scoring the winning goal against Massachusetts on Friday to give the Broncos the 2-0 victory. Sunday's 1-0 victory came from junior Max Ornstil when he tallied his first score of the season against Northern Illinois. The Broncos lone loss comes from now No. 2 Creighton where the Broncos fell 1-0 after a three-hour lightning delay at halftime in Omaha, Neb.
Santa Clara holds a .439 shots on goal percentage while outscoring opponents 6-3 on the season. The Broncos continue to outshoot the opposition 41-35. Starting goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh has made 11 saves for a .786 save percentage and tallies two shutouts in his junior campaign.
Santa Clara is 9-16-5 all-time against UCLA (3-1-0) with the last meeting ending in a 2-2 draw on Sept. 3, 2011. Erik Hurtado scored the first goal of the night in the eighth minute and Mykell Bates was able to send it into overtime with a goal in the 84th minute. The match ended in a tie after two overtime periods.
UCLA holds the No. 1 ranking by NSCAA after earning the No. 1 overall seed at the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Bruins exited the tournament in the second round after a 5-2 loss to San Diego. Currently, UCLA has a total of five players ranked in Top Drawer Soccer's Top 100 led by Leo Stolz – the No. 1 player and MAC Herman Trophy finalist. The Bruins have defeated three top-12 opponents this season but recently were upset by American University 2-1 in overtime.
Sunday's match will be the first meeting between Santa Clara and UC Riverside. The Highlanders are 1-2-0 this season and are coming off of two losses to then-No. 6 New Mexico and American University. Riverside is led by Michael Salazar, who scored a program's first hat trick in the season-opening 5-1 victory over Pacific. They will face Bakersfield on Thursday before hosting Santa Clara on Sunday night.
Game Notes – Fri., Sept. 12 @ 8 p.m.
Santa Clara vs. #1 UCLA in Los Angeles, Calif. (Marshall Field at Drake Stadium)
Game Notes – Sun., Sept. 14 @ 7 p.m.
Santa Clara vs. UC Riverside in Riverside, Calif. (UC Riverside Soccer Stadium)
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