Broncos Win Thriller Over St. Mary’s

Santa Clara goes 1-0-1 against WCC foes in weekend homestand

Andrew SlapTHE SANTA CLARAOctober 22, 2015[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Broncos won a heart-pounding victory against Saint Mary’s College last Friday.

The squad fell behind early against St. Mary’s with an own goal in the 23rd minute. The Gaels threw the ball into the box where it deflected off a Santa Clara defender into their own net. Santa Clara managed five shots on goal in the first half, but still entered the break down 0-1.

The Broncos quickly responded in the second half, tying the game in the 47th minute. Forward Andres Jimenez received a cross from Satoshi Chaffin in the center of the box, settled it, then blasted the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.

The game remained at 1-1 for most of the half, but the Broncos finally broke through in the 81st minute.

Midfielder Dylan Autran drove the ball into St. Mary’s territory before kicking it out to Alfred Edmonds, who crossed the ball at the top of the box to Edson Cardona. She then one-timed it into the top right corner.

The Broncos held on for the 2-1 win, earning their first conference victory of the season.

But Santa Clara could not catch any  offensive breaks when they took on Pacific.

The Broncos outshot Pacific 16-8 and had twice as many corner kicks, but they still couldn’t convert any of their opportunities.

“We didn’t play badly, we just didn’t play real sharp and because of that we didn’t create the goal we needed,” said Head Coach Cameron Rast. “We just needed the goal.”

Goals have been hard to come by for the Broncos, as they’ve only managed 12 scores in 13 games. But Santa Clara showed their offensive  potential with two beautiful second half goals against St. Mary’s, making Sunday’s result even more disappointing.

Midfielder Max Ornstil and forward Andres Jimenez led the Broncos with three shots apiece. Parker Holland and Alfred Edmonds each had two of their own.

Pacific entered Sunday 1-11, so this was a game the Broncos expected to win.

“This is just one you wanted to put in the bag,” Rast said.

The defense was not the problem for the Broncos, since Pacific did not have a single shot on goal.

“It’s a disappointing result,” said goalie Kendall McIntosh. “Going forward we just need to keep working hard, keep our heads up, and hopefully these results will start falling in our favor.”

Coach Rast echoed the importance of moving past Sunday’s disappointing draw.

“It’s important for us to reset,” said Coach Rast. “We’ll have to stay positive, I think that’s one of the keys, but we’ll have to work through this to get a little tougher physically, mentally.”

Santa Clara will have their chance to bounce back, since they have four conference games remaining this year.

Their first test will come on Friday, Oct. 30, when they travel to Portland to face the Pilots.

Contact Andrew Slap at aslap@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.