Oct. 18, 2008
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara men's soccer team rallied from behind to take Loyola Marymount to a 2-2 tie Friday night at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Broncos outshot the Lions 20-14. With the win, Santa Clara improves to 2-6-4 on the season and 0-2-2 in West Coast Conference action, while LMU is 4-3-5 overall and 2-1-1 in league play.
"It wasn't a great first half for us," said head coach Cameron Rast. "So we really challenged the guys at the half. We told them they have nothing to lose, so just give it a try. Take chances. I'm happy for both Sean and Brandon scoring their first goals of the year tonight. We were down twice and that can be a demoralizing situation, but they fought back and I'm proud of that."
The first half was a fairly even fight for possession of the ball. The Broncos opened the firing in the fifth minute as Jeff Cosgriff attempted a shot that went slightly wide of the right post. Santa Clara led the attack, out-shooting Loyola Marymount 4-3 before the Lions turned the tables and took a 1-0 lead. The Lions were awarded a free kick in the 32nd minute, which Brad Stisser converted for his second goal of the season. The Broncos fought hard to even the score but attempts from Connor Mitchell and Jalil Anibaba were either blocked or high over the crossbar. The Lions led 1-0 going into halftime.
Santa Clara rallied in the beginning of the second half to even the match. Junior Sean Danzeiser equalized the game for the Broncos with a fast break up the middle in the 50th minute. The play started with Mitchell winning a tackle and chipping the ball up to fellow rookie Brandon Zimmerman who found Danzeiser in the middle just outside the 18. The Albuquerque, N.M., native then beat out LMU's goalkeeper Patrick Sampson to his right side. The strike was his first of the season.
The Lions tried a triplet of times to regain control of the scoreboard, but Bronco keeper Kevin Klasila made the saves. However, in the 60th minute Stisser sent the ball up the field to Alex Greenman, who found Rafael Baca about 30 yards out. Baca then took a breakaway up the middle and sent a shot that found the upper right corner of the next at 59:43. Loyola Marymount led 2-1.
Thirteen minutes later, Santa Clara was given the opportunity to knot the score once again. After Ryan Brown, who made his first appearance of the season Friday night, drew a hard-fought foul inside the box, the Broncos were awarded with a penalty kick. Zimmerman took the shot for SCU and beat out Sampson for his first collegiate goal. The game was tied, 2-2.
The Broncos return to action on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. against the Toreros of San Diego. Kick off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Buck Shaw Stadium.
