Sept. 24, 2006
San Francisco, Calif. - The 15th ranked Santa Clara men's soccer team continued its strong play with a 2-1 win over the 13th ranked University of San Francisco on a cold Sunday night at Negoesco Stadium. The Broncos (5-2-2) got out to a 2-0 lead behind goals from Keith DeVey and Sean Danzeiser before holding on for the win in their first West Coast Conference match of the year.
Santa Clara jumped out to a 1-0 advantage just three minutes into the game through DeVey, who scored his third goal of the season. Freshman Amaechi Igwe created the play by creating some space and firing a shot that USF goalkeeper Geremy Uhl saved but could not control. The rebound dropped to DeVey and he calmly put it away to put the Broncos into the lead.
After a tight 30 minutes, the action picked up again in the final 15 minutes of the half as each team had opportunities to find the back of the net. With 13 minutes remaining in the half, SCU freshman Ryan Brown nearly picked up his first career goal after breaking in alone on Uhl. DeVey got the ball 35 yards from goal and slid it through for Brown, who got a shot off, but Uhl dove to make the stop.
A minute later, Aaron Chandler came back with one of the Dons best chances of the half. The All-WCC forward got behind the Broncos defense on a pass from Ardalan Attar and broke into the box on the left side as SCU goalkeeper Joseph Buttitta came off his line. Chandler fired a shot to the near post, but Buttitta cut off the angle and was able to make the stop.
Moments later, Rob Smith got a pass from Chandler on the opposite side of the penalty box and hit a low shot, but Buttitta dove to his left and made the stop to keep the Dons off the board.
In the 36th minute, junior captain Peter Lowry nearly caught Uhl napping with a spectacular effort from beyond midfield. After receiving the ball in his own half, Lowry drove a shot that sailed over Uhl's head and hit the cross bar before Uhl gather it in.
Chandler almost brought the Dons even right at the start of the second half on a great individual effort. After picking up the ball 25 yards from goal, he broke into the box and hammered a shot near post that went just wide.
Lowry set up Brown for a chance 14 minutes into the second stanza but Uhl was there to make the stop. The Broncos captain stole the ball in midfield and beat two defenders before putting Brown in behind the defense. Brown launched a left-footed shot but Uhl was well-positioned for the save.
Matt Marquess made a big defensive play with just under 30 minutes to go. After a turnover outside the box, the Dons appeared to have a clear path to goal, but Marquess swept in and cleared the ball away keeping SCU in the lead.
Danzeiser picked up the Broncos second goal in the 64th minute after stealing the ball from the last defender and ripping a blazing shot past Uhl. Chris Sauter started the play by sending a long cross to the edge of the 18-yard box where it was knocked down by the Dons defense. Refusing to give up on the play, Danzeiser recovered the ball and then hit a dipping shot that got past Uhl for a 2-0 Broncos lead.
The Dons cut the lead to 2-1 on a long free kick by midfielder Matt Languis that snuck through everyone and bounced into the upper corner of the Broncos net. Languis hooked a cross in from the right wing that dropped into the box and bounced at the penalty spot before ending up in the upper corner.
Despite the Dons pushing forward to find the equalizer, the Broncos defense tightened up and kept USF at bay for the remainder of the match to earn the win.
The Broncos return home for a two-game homestand next weekend against WCC foes Loyola Marymount and San Diego. The Lions of LMU invade Buck Shaw Stadium on Friday, Sept. 29 for a 7:00 p.m. PT. Two days later on Sunday, Oct. 1, the Broncos host the University of San Diego at 2:00 p.m. PT.
