Men’s Soccer 1989 National Champion Squad to be Celebrated During Grand Reunion

 

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara men's soccer will recognize the 1989 National Championship team during halftime of Saturday's West Coast Conference opener at Stevens Stadium when the current squad takes on No. 8-ranked Saint Mary's.  Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

 

The evening, which will include a special halftime ceremony, will recognize the 30th anniversary of the program's NCAA title with nearly all members of the team in attendance.  The night will feature a giveaway to the first 300 fans of a commemorative scarf to honor the 1989 National Championship, as well as NCAA Final Four appearances in 1991, 1998, 1999 and 2003.

 

Honoring the men's soccer program will be among many events around campus, including a number for Athletics, during the weekend for the school's annual Grand Reunion weekend.

 

The 1989 Broncos ended the season as the only undefeated team in the nation with a 20-0-3 overall record to capture the first-ever national championship.  No other men's Division I soccer team since then has finished with an undefeated national championship season.  

 

In the NCAA title game, Santa Clara and Virginia played to a 1-1 deadlock.  Bronco forward Jeff Baicher scored the equalizer in the 83rd minute as the two teams battled for sixty minutes of overtime play in 20-degree weather in Piscataway, New Jersey, but neither team scored.  After two and a half hours of championship soccer, the Broncos and Cavaliers were declared co-national champions.  

 

At the season's end, Santa Clara was ranked No. 1 by both the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America and Soccer America.  

 

Steve Sampson was honored as the National Coach of the Year, as well as for the Western Region and the West Coast Conference.  Current Broncos head coach Cam Rast was a unanimous All-America choice and the WCC's Defensive Player of the Year.  Baicher was voted the Most Valuable Offensive Player of the NCAA Championship tournament and the WCC.  Paul Bravo and Paul Holocher earned first team All-WCC honors, while Matt Rast, Robert Gallo and current associate head coach Eric Yamamoto were honorable mention selections.