Web update: Men's soccer falls to Notre Dame in third round

By Nicholas Pinkerton

The Broncos saw their season come to an end in the third round Saturday night, losing 2-0 to No. 10 Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish netted two goals in the second half, ending seventh ranked Santa Clara's 18-game unbeaten streak.

Notre Dame struck first midway through the second half on a goal in the 67th minute by senior Joseph Lapira that came off an errant pass from Broncos' defender Jalil Anibaba.

Throughout the game the Broncos struggled to stay in control of the ball, resulting in squandered opportunities in the offensive zone.

"I think we maybe tried to do a little bit too much in holding [the ball]," said Head Coach Cameron Rast.

Notre Dame sophomore Dave Donohue scored five minutes later in the 72nd minute to give the Irish a 2-0 lead.

The Broncos spent the rest of the game constantly attacking the Notre Dame zone, but they could not generate enough opportunities on net.

Santa Clara goaltender Kevin Klasila was injured with 43:30 left in the match. Rast did not see the incident clearly, but he said that he saw Klasila fall awkwardly.

Backup Joe Buttitta replaced him and gave up the two goals, but Rast said he didn't believe goaltending was the issue at hand.

"I don't think there was anything Joe could've done about it," he said. "It was a couple of our decisions that gave them their goals."

Notre Dame will play the winner of Sunday's West Virgina/Wake Forest game in the quarterfinals.