Nov. 3, 2006
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University has continued to flex its muscles as "Soccer U" in 2006, as the men's team has already clinched their ninth West Coast Conference title, and with a win on Saturday, the women's side can clinch their ninth conference title as well. On the individual side of things, men's goalkeeper Joseph Buttitta and women's defender Marian Dalmy continued their stellar years as they were each named the WCC Player of the Month for the month of October.
It is the first such honor for each player, and it comes on the heels of both Buttitta and Dalmy being named the most recent recipients of WCC Player of the Week honors on Oct. 30.
Buttitta's solid and steady goalkeeping in October helped the Broncos to a 6-0-2 mark in conference play, propelling the team to the top of the WCC standings and eventually to the title, as the San Jose native made five saves and withstood 10 shots in the opening 20 minutes in SCU's title-clinching 2-0 win at Loyola Marymount on Oct. 29. Boosted by a suffocating back line, Buttitta posted four shutouts during the month to bring his WCC-leading total to seven, and lower his WCC-best goals-against average to 0.76.
Dalmy, who shared Player of the Month honors with Portland's Michelle Enyeart, made her case as one of the final nominees for the M.A.C. Hermann Award by exhibiting her all-around abilities from both sides of the ball. With three goals and five assists on the attack, and being a major part of a Bronco defense that shut out three opponents in October, Dalmy helped lead Santa Clara to a 5-1-1 mark and also into a tie with Portland atop the WCC standings. The Lakewood, Colo. native was clutch for the Broncos in delivering three goals and three assists in the month's final three matches, and leads all WCC defenders with five goals and 16 points on the season.
Both teams conclude their regular season this weekend, as the men host Portland Friday night at 7 p.m. before closing the season out with a Senior Day match against Gonzaga at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The women travel up to Moraga Saturday afternoon to battle the Gaels in a 1 p.m. contest.