SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After a tough match at Wisconsin on Friday night, Santa Clara men's soccer will look to bounce back and get its first win of the 2016 season on Monday at Northwestern. The game will take place in Northwestern's new Martin Stadium at 4 p.m. PT.
SCU opened the 2016 season with a tough 1-0 loss at Wisconsin on Friday, Aug. 26. The Broncos outshot the Badgers, 10-7, but were only able to get two shots on target. SCU also won four corner kicks in the match. Despite their aggression and relentless attacking, the Broncos just weren't able to break down the Wisconsin defense to find the goal needed to extend the game.
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THE BRONCOS
Santa Clara was picked to finish first in the West Coast Conference preseason poll. After the league's eight coaches voted, the Broncos amassed 45 points in the poll and four first-place votes. The Broncos will look to defend their 2015 WCC title, a feat that has not been accomplished in the WCC since 2006 and 2007 when the Broncos won back-to-back league championships. Juniors Valdemar Andersen and Delgadillo were two of the 11 student-athletes named to the Preseason All-WCC team.
The Broncos ended the 2015 season with a record of 11-8-1 and 5-1-1 record in conference play to claim the program's fifth (2003, 2006, 2007, 2010) league title under head coach Cameron Rast and 20th all-time. Under Rast, the 2015 WCC Coach of the Year, the team advanced to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament but lost to Stanford, the eventual NCAA Champions.
Despite missing three games due to injury, Delgadillo was the leading scorer for the team and the conference in 2015 with 10 goals. Delgadillo also dished out the most assists of the returning Broncos with four. Delgadillo and junior defender Valdemar Andersen were All-WCC first team honorees. Also returning to the squad is sophomore defender Luis Urias, the reigning WCC Freshman of the Year. Senior defender Parker Holland earned all-conference honorable mention honors while sophomore midfielder Matthew Sipowicz garnered WCC All-Freshman team accolades.
THE WILDCATS
Northwestern began the season with a win at home on Friday night over Florida Gulf Coast, 2-1. Senior Brandon Medina, who missed all of 2015 with injury, scored twice (21st and 46th minutes) from the penalty spot to give the Wildcats the victory.
FGCU outshot Northwestern 23-8 but both teams each had five shots on target. The Eagles also won more corner kicks, 5, than the Wildcats, 3. Despite the onslaught of shots from FGCU, Northwestern held onto their lead for the win.
Northwestern finished the 2015 campaign with a 7-9-2 record overall and a 4-4 mark in conference play, which tied the team for third in the Big Ten standings.
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