SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Dylan Bartlett made his presence felt as a late substitute scoring the game winner in the 86th minute to lift Santa Clara men's soccer to a 2-1 victory over Houston Baptist on Friday night at Stevens Stadium.
A raucous crowd buoyed by the return of students to campus saw Bartlett re-enter the game in the 83rd minute. Just a few minutes later, Julian Bravo threaded the ball from near midfield between two Husky defenders to Bartlett who got behind the defense to slot it low past goalkeeper JP Becerra.
For Bartlett, a sophomore, it was his second goal of the season and the first game winner of his career.
Santa Clara (5-1) was in control of most of game, taking a 1-0 lead to intermission on Oladayo Thomas' header in the 36th minute. Tyrone Kirunda sent in a service from the left side that Thomas out jumped the HBU defender to drop it over the head of goalkeeper Gustavo Otero. Otero was later replaced by Becerra after sustaining a second half injury.
Five minutes into the second half, Houston Baptist (2-5) leveled the match capitalizing on a Bronco defensive miscue. Sebastian Cochrane scooped up the loose ball and passed it to Nathan Karmbor who found Bryan Farkarlun for the equalizer.
With the score tied at 1-all, Santa Clara continued to press the action with their best scoring opportunity coming in the 71st minute when Dominic Vegaalban's rocket shot hit the post.
The Broncos outshot the Huskies 15-1 in the second half before Bartlett broke through with the next to last shot of the game. For the game, SCU held a 18-2 advantage in shots and 6-0 in corner kicks.
NOTES:
• Santa Clara is now 1-0 all-time against Houston Baptist.
• A different Bronco has scored the game winning goal in each of the five wins this season. Vegaalban scored the game-winner against Cal Poly, Javier Ruiz Duran against Sacramento State, Thomas in the American game and Eduardo Lopez Perez against UC San Diego.
HIGHLIGHTS:
HIGHLIGHTS | @thomsvic12 with the opener and @dylonbartlert with the match-winner in Friday's victory over Houston Baptist!#StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/Id4EamWLhG
— Santa Clara Men's Soccer (@SCUBroncoSoccer) September 18, 2021
INTERVIEW:
�� Head coach Cam Rast summarizing the 2-1 win over Houston Baptist. pic.twitter.com/n0n1sOZePo
— Santa Clara Men's Soccer (@SCUBroncoSoccer) September 18, 2021
NEXT UP:
The Broncos face Dixie State on Sunday at 1 p.m. inside Stevens Stadium.
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