Sept. 19, 2002
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's soccer team defeated Bay Area rival San Jose State by a 2-0 score Thursday night in game two of the 2002 Santa Clara adidas Classic at Buck Shaw Stadium.
Sophomore Will Weatherly scored his second goal of the season to give the Broncos (3-1-0) a 1-0 lead at the 16:59 mark when he slipped the ball under Spartan netminder Eddie Dominguez off a crossing pass from Kellan Gilmore.
Santa Clara increased its lead to two at the 31:32 mark of the first half when Ryan Wolfe headed home his first career goal at the collegiate level off a corner kick pass from Jason Cunliffe.
The two-goal lead was all the Broncos needed as their defense tightened and their offense kept the pressure on. Santa Clara outshot San Jose State by a 16-3 margin on the evening, forcing Santa Clara goalkeeper Steve Cronin to make only one save. Cronin gave way to Kent Harkness with 9:58 remaining as head coach Cameron Rast tried to give the sophomore transfer some time between the pipes before Cronin leaves for the U.S. U-20 team in November.
Santa Clara has now scored 15 goals on the year and limited its oppoenent to just three to go along with its two shutouts in the four matches. The Broncos are only five goals away from matching its season total from 2001 when it scored 20 in 21 matches.
In addition to the win, the Broncos also earned the first points for the newly created rivalry series with San Jose State. The two schools will meet in 13 sports this season, with the overall winner of the year-long series claiming bragging rights for the year. The series is still yet to be named and fans can vote for their favorite name for the series by clicking here.
The game was the second game of the evening in the Santa Clara/adidas Classic and followed Cal State Fullerton's thrilling 4-3 win over San Francisco. The Broncos and Titans will meet for the championship Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. San Francisco and San Jose State met last Sunday with the Dons coming away with the victory and claiming third place in the tournament.
