Sept. 12, 2000
SACRAMENTO, Calif - The No. 2-ranked Santa Clara men's soccer team dropped its season opener to an emotionally-charged Sacramento State squad in the match's second overtime by a 2-1 margin Friday at Hornet Soccer Field.
The win marked the first time for Sacramento State to defeat Santa Clara in 21 tries. SCU owned a 20-0-1 record against the Hornets since the first meeting in 1974. Three of the last four meetings between the two schools have been by a one-goal margin and twice tduring that time he two teams have played into overtime.
"Sacramento was really charged emotionally and gave us their best shot," said Santa Clara head coach Mitch Murray. "It was the first game of the year for us and I thought we played a little tight. We really looked like we were playing not to lose. You really have to give them credit, though. They scored to tie the game late in the second half and that really lifted them up and that confidence carried them into overtime."
The two teams battled through a scoreless first half before sophomore Jamil Walker (Rochester, N.Y.,) scored off a Joe Ascolese (Sr., Chattaroy, Wash.) assist just three minutes into the second half. The Bronco defense held Sacramento State scoreless until Hjalti Kristjansson tied the match with under 13:00 remaining. After a scoreless first overtime, Sacramento's Danny Gehm scored the winning goal off a rebound. The two overtime match lasted 112:54, while Santa Clara outshot the Hornets by a 16-8 margin.
"I thought as the game went on we lost our concentration at times," said Murray. "At times, though, we played very well. I really thought we were playing our best soccer as we went into overtime. We had a couple of opportunities but we couldn't put it away."
Next weekend, the Broncos travel to the University of San Francisco for matches against Alabama A&M and Cal Poly in the San Francisco Diadora Classic Sept. 8-10. SCU opens its home season Sept. 21-23 in the Santa Clara adidas Classic. Tickets to all SCU matches are available by telephone at 408-554-4660 or online at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com.
