STOCKTON, Calif. – Freshman Caden Buckley scored in sudden death overtime to lift Santa Clara men's soccer to a thrilling 2-1 win over Pacific on Sunday afternoon.

In the 100th minute with less than 30 seconds remaining in overtime, Alejandro Barajas sent the ball inside the box on a set piece that was headed high above the six yard box and was eventually settled by Oladayo Thomas.  Still inside the six, Thomas turned and fired the ball across the goal that found Buckley who directed the ball that hit the post before finding the back of the net.

"The best part of the moment was how we stayed disciplined and not lose our way as just prior to Buckley's goal, there was likely a handball that was not called our way but the team did not get caught up in it," said Broncos head coach Cam Rast.  "Instead, we were really opportunistic where (Ola) Dayo was strong in the box, slid the ball past and Buckley did a nice job redirecting it."

Pandemonium ensued as the Broncos earned a hard fought West Coast Conference win.

Santa Clara (1-3, 1-2) fell behind early when they conceded a goal in the 10th minute to Yazid Omri.  The left-footed strike from Omri came from 15 yards out on a one timed strike beating a flatfooted Broncos goalkeeper Andreu Cases Mundet to the far post.  The one-timer was the result of a Ryan Her shot that caromed off the crossbar and bounced off the head of a Bronco defender.

The Broncos who had struggled offensively all season was left chasing the rest of the half.

The Tigers (1-5, 1-2) continued to hold on to the 1-0 lead until Alejandro Barajas' equalizer in the 71st minute.

Barajas chested down the ball from over 25 yards out and volleyed a dipping shot past the diving Pacific goalkeeper Eric Cotton.

The goal sparked the Broncos offense, which peppered the Tigers with four shots in the final 12 minutes of regulation before heading to overtime.

For the game, SCU outshot Pacific 10 to 6 and had an advantage in corner kicks 5 to 2. 

NEXT UP

Santa Clara returns home to face Saint Mary's in a West Coast Conference match on Sunday, March 21.  Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

100' | Freshman Caden Buckley with the game-winner in the waning seconds of overtime to give Santa Clara a 2-1 WIN!!!!!

Santa Clara 2 - Pacific 1 pic.twitter.com/TymqQfzP6K

— Santa Clara Men's Soccer (@SCUBroncoSoccer) March 14, 2021