Santa Clara men's soccer will begin its West Coast Conference title defense with the first practice of the 2016 season on Wednesday. The team reports to the medical staff on Tuesday to get physicals and then on Wednesday they take the field.
"We have all the guys back and we're looking forward to putting them on the field and starting to work for the season," head coach Cameron Rast said. "It's a time of year that we work very hard to get to. Sorting through the players, training through the winter and the limited games in the spring. A lot of the guys have also played in the summer which just shows a great commitment to our program and to their game and improvement."
Coming off winning his fifth WCC title in 2015 and his fifth WCC Coach of the Year honor, Rast will begin his 14th season as the head coach of the team. The squad welcomes back the reigning WCC Freshman of the Year in Luis Urias as well as first-team all-conference honorees Carlos Delgadillo and Valdemar Andersen.
Although it is just the first week of practice, Rast and his staff understand the importance of each day the team spends together in preparation for the season.
"Any chance we get to spend very focused time together, to push ourselves and compete, that is what bonds a team because we go through it together," Rast said. "Those shared experiences and challenges and our ability to work together creates that chemistry that you need through a season."
After a couple days of training here in Santa Clara, the team will head down to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., for a week of training.
"We look forward to taking the team down to Chula Vista," Rast said. "It's an unbelievable Olympic environment, especially with the Olympics in Rio De Janeiro going on right now. It embodies everything we want for our kids. We want them to strive to be the best they can be, to push themselves farther, reach higher and go faster. That's what we're all about. We had a generous donor help fund that so for us the environment is second-to-none and will help us prepare."
The squad will also face San Diego State in exhibition match at 10 a.m. PT on Wednesday, August 17.
The first chance to see Santa Clara in action at Stevens Stadium will come on August 20 at 7:30 p.m. PT against Sacramento State. On August 26, the 2016 regular season will begin for the Broncos at Wisconsin at 5:30 p.m. PT.
Tickets: Click here to purchase tickets. For groups interested in a discounted rate or for information, call (408) 554-4660 weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. or email BroncoTickets@scu.edu. Gates to Stevens Stadium open two hours prior to kickoff. The ticket office is also open one hour prior to the start of the game.
Parking: Leavey Center parking lot is free beginning one hour prior to kickoff. Click here for a campus map.
