Nov. 13, 2006
Santa Clara, Calif. - The Santa Clara men's soccer team begins its quest for College Cup this week with a second round match against the University of Washington Huskies on Wednesday night. The game kicks off at 7:00 p.m. PT at Buck Shaw Stadium. Washington defeated Creighton last weekend 3-0 behind Kevin Forrest's hat trick in the first round to advance to Wednesday night's game.
"We are expecting a good game this week," said Broncos head coach Cameron Rast. "They are a very talented team and they looked good last weekend against Creighton. We are going to have to be ready from the get-go."
The Broncos will come into the match rested after having 10 days off since their final game of the regular season on Nov. 5. SCU finished the regular season with a 7-1-2 record in their final 10 games and the team hopes that it can use that momentum Wednesday night.
"We played well down the stretch and got ourselves into a good position with a first-round bye," said Rast. "Now we need to take advantage of playing at home and go out and get a win."
Santa Clara will go at the Huskies with its balanced lineup that features five players with at least five goals this season. Keith DeVey led the way with six goals, followed closely by Amaechi Igwe and Peter Lowry with five and Sean Danzeiser and Jeff Cosgriff with four. Igwe has been hot recently with three goals and an assist in the final five matches, including the game-winner against San Francisco in the game that kept the Broncos in first place in the conference.
During the Broncos off-week last week, the team got some good news as 11 players received All-WCC honors while Rast was named WCC Coach of the Year. DeVey earned first-team honors, while Lowry and Ustruck were named to the second-team. Freshman Stephen McCarthy was named Co-WCC Freshman of the Year while also being named All-WCC honorable mention. Joseph Buttitta, Matt Hatzke, Amaechi Igwe, Brian Martin, Jide Ogunbiyi and Jamil Roberts were also honorable mention selections. Jeff Cosgriff, Igwe and McCarthy also earned spots on the WCC All-Freshman team.
Washington enters the game with a good run of their own going, as they have posted a 5-2-1 record in their past eight games, including Friday's 3-0 win over Creighton. The Huskies current run began following a mid-season four-game losing streak that put their postseason hopes in jeopardy. The team is led by Forrest, the Pac-10 Player of the Year, who has scored 16 goals this season in only 18 games.
The game holds added intrigue for both teams as the head coaches are very familiar with each other. Huskies head coach Dean Wurzberger was the assistant coach at Santa Clara during Rast's senior season when the Broncos reached the College Cup.
"We know each other very well," said Rast. "He will have his team ready to play this week and we expect a great game."
Tickets for the match can be purchased by calling 408-554-4660 or by clicking here.
