Sept. 15, 2006
Los Angeles, Calif. - After having the better of play for much of the night and numerous scoring chances, the sixth-ranked Santa Clara Broncos men's soccer team allowed two goals in less than a minute in the second half and fell 2-1 on the road to the 16th-ranked UCLA Bruins at Drake Stadium. The Broncos held an 18-8 advantage in shots, but could not stretch their unbeaten streak to six games. Senior Keith DeVey's last second goal was not enough as Santa Clara fell to 4-1-1 on the season.
After a slow start to the match for the Broncos, they began to pick up the attack 20 minutes into the game. Following a series of corners by the Bruins, Broncos sophomore transfer Brian Martin got behind the defense and found himself alone with Bruins goalkeeper Eric Reed. Martin beat Reed with a low shot, but his effort clanked off the post and right back into Reed's hands.
SCU continued to put the pressure on throughout the remainder of the half as they peppered the UCLA net with seven shots including a great opportunity from senior captain Erik Ustruck. Garrett Frechette found Ustruck for a blast to the near post, but Reed was there again to make the save and keep the game scoreless. The Broncos were denied in the 32nd minute on a close-range header as Reed was able to get a touch on an Amaechi Igwe header and knock it over the bar.
The teams entered the half in a scoreless tie, despite a 9-2 shot advantage for the Broncos.
Coming out of halftime, the Broncos continued to maintain possession and keep the Bruins off-balance. However, it was UCLA that would get on the board first as Maxwell Griffin, the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week, scored the game's first goal in the 67th minute. Greg Folk's shot hit off the post and the ball fell right on the goal-line where Griffin slipped in and finished to put UCLA on top.
Less than a minute later, the Bruins struck again with freshman Jason Leopoldo scoring his first career collegiate goal off an assist from Griffin to put the Bruins up 2-0.
Despite the two-goal deficit, the Broncos attempted to battle their way back into the match. DeVey, junior captain Peter Lowry and freshman Sean Danzeiser all had shots to bring the Broncos within one, but Reed was equal to the challenge and kept SCU off the board. Reed finished with seven saves on the night.
DeVey finally broke through for Santa Clara in the waning seconds of the match as he nodded in a corner kick from Igwe. The goal was DeVey's second of the year and the 16th of his career.
The Broncos next head to Northridge to take on the Matadors of Cal State Northridge on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 4:00 p.m. PT. Fans can listen to the action at SantaClaraBroncos.com.
