Men's soccer has strong start
By Erin Chambers
A strong start to the 2001 season has brought great confidence to the Bronco men's soccer team. The season opener against San Diego State proved victorious for the Broncos after sophomore Mark Upton scored the only goal of the match with only 3:21 left in the first overtime. Rusty Johnson also stood out in the first game of the season, recording his fourth consecutive shut-out, dating back to last season, making him fourth on Santa Clara's career shut-out list with 21.5.
Despite a loss at the first ever meeting between Santa Clara and Bradley, where the Broncos played a tough second half with 23 shots on goal, the Broncos headed to the Diadora Classic, hosted by USF, with confidence. Heading into their match with Oregon State, the Broncos had the advantage of a 1-0-1 record against the Beavers. Scott McLain started things off right with a goal at the 7:01 mark in the first half, assisted by sophomore Kellen Gilmore. After missing a penalty kick at the end of the first half, Oregon tied it up in the second with two clean passes straight to Stephen Hensor for the goal. Finally, in the second overtime at the 114:06 mark, after a perfect pass from Gilmore off a penalty restart, senior midfielder Jeff Stuart scored his first goal of the season to give the Broncos the win. The two assists were a game high for Gilmore.
Fresh with the win over the Beavers, the Broncos headed into their Sunday match with NO. 10 ranked UCLA. The Bruins scored the game winning goal just four minutes into the second half, and left the three-time defending champions of the event defeated. Despite the game score of 2-1, the Broncos out shot the Bruins, who eventually became the Diadora Classic champions, by seven in the first half and four overall. Junior Jamil Walker provided numerous offensive chances for the Broncos with six shots on goal in the first half. These shots however failed to help the Broncos get on the scoreboard.
"The ball just didn't seem to find its way to the back of the net," Coach Mitch Murray said.
Going into the match, the teams had met 23 times and UCLA had the advantage with 13-6-4 record. The last time the Broncos beat the Bruins was in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 1995.
Despite the ups and downs of the first games of the season, the men's team is looking forward to an exciting weekend as Santa Clara hosts the annual Adidas Classic. Long Island University, Marquette University, and University of San Francisco are scheduled to play at BUck Shaw Stadium this weekend. The Broncos head in ranked No. 23 with a recored of 2-2-0.