Oct. 8, 2006
Portland, Ore. - The No. 17 Santa Clara University men's soccer team kept itself among the leaders of the West Coast Conference with an impressive 2-1 road victory over the University of Portland Pilots at Clive Charles Soccer Complex. Goalkeeper Joseph Buttitta had another strong performance in the net for the Broncos, while junior Matt Hatzke and freshman Sean Danzeiser scored goals for Santa Clara. SCU improved to 7-3-3 overall and 3-1-1 in the WCC.
After battling to a 0-0 tie against Gonzaga on Friday, the Broncos came out hard on Sunday with one of their best performances of the season. Led by the strong play of the midfield, SCU dictated the pace of the game and continually kept the Pilots under pressure.
Despite a good performance in the first half, Santa Clara was unable to score in the opening 45 minutes. They fired seven shots at the Pilots net but could not break through.
Sophomore Brian Martin nearly put the Broncos on top with a long range shot with 10 minutes left in the half, but Portland goalkeeper Luis Robles made the save. Amaechi Igwe's rebound header sailed over the bar.
Just moments later Buttitta made a great save on Brayton Knapp on a shot from distance. He then recovered and forced Steven Hosseinmardi to shoot high on the rebound.
SCU stormed out of the gate in the second half and took control on the field and on the scoreboard with two quick goals.
Hatzke got things started with a goal less than two minutes into the half. The San Jose native curled a low shot around the wall into the corner just past the dive of Portland goalkeeper Luis Robles. The goal was Hatzke's first of the year.
Six minutes later, Danzeiser again made his presence felt with another amazing goal, his third of the season. Captain Peter Lowry sent him through from midfield and the freshman from Albuquerque found himself one-on-one with Robles. Seeing Robles coming off his line, Danzeiser chipped a long shot over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.
A minute after the goal, Buttitta made a save on Collen Warner to keep the lead at two and to help the Broncos maintain the momentum.
Five minutes from the end of the match, the Pilots cut the lead in half as Warner scored on a shot from inside the box. Christopher Sanders set up Warner for the goal with a blast that hit the post and rebounded out to Warner, who then finished into the empty net.
The Broncos next face a home-and-home series against Bay Area Rival Saint Mary's. On Friday, Oct. 13, SCU hosts the Gaels at Buck Shaw Stadium at 7:00 p.m. PT in the first game. The Broncos then head to Moraga to play Saint Mary's on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 2:00 p.m. PT.
