SPOKANE, Wash. – Santa Clara University
rallied from a goal down to comeback and defeat homestanding
Gonzaga University 3-1 Friday afternoon in Spokane. It was Santa
Clara's 2010 West Coast Conference opener.
Santa Clara (4-4-1; 1-0 WCC) received second-half goals from Eric
Masch and Mykell
Bates, which proved to be the difference, allowing SCU to win
on the road for the third time this year.
It appeared it was not going to be the Broncos' day when a
penalty kick was missed by Brandon
Zimmerman in the opening moments. Not long after, Gonzaga
(3-6-0; 0-2-0 WCC) went ahead 1-0 on an early goal from Colin
Flynn.
"We weren't panicking at halftime but you could tell the belief
was not fully there at halftime, (our players) weren't sure," said
Santa Clara head coach Cameron Rast. "But we kept grinding and
stayed focused, and midway through the second half we were putting
all kinds of pressure on them."
The Broncos' offense ended up out-shooting the Zags by a wide
margin at 16-8.
Erik Hurtado set-up Masch with a cross in the 70
th
minute, which tied it at 1-1. Bates – who put three shots on
goal – knocked in the go-ahead score with 10 minutes left.
With the Broncos leading 2-1 in the closing moments, Hurtado sealed
the victory with an unassisted effort in the 88
th
minute. He was credited with three points on the day.
"It was good second half for us," said Rast. "Once we got even,
that took tons of pressure off us and things got much easier. Then
the guys took the next step and finished it off. The guys did a
great job of keeping their focus today."
Santa Clara - who has played just two home games this year - is
opening its league schedule in the Northwest this weekend. SCU
moves on to play No. 25 University of Portland Sunday at 2:30
p.m.
After the current road trip, the Broncos will play six of its final
10 games on their home field at Buck Shaw Stadium.
