SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara
University adjusted its offensive approach, pressuring city rival
San Jose State University all night, en route to a 2-1 victory
Friday at Buck Shaw Stadium.
All-league midfielder Brandon
Zimmerman played more of a role in the attack, playing
alongside freshman forward Carlos
Montes, which generated consistent opportunities throughout for
Santa Clara (3-4) – a team which snapped a two-game losing
streak.
"We changed some things this week," said Santa Clara head coach Cameron
Rast, three-time West Coast Conference Coach of the Year. "We
looked at the qualities we have within our group and needed some
adjustments after the first six games."
In a first half which saw SCU outshoot SJSU 6-1, Mykell
Bates put the Broncos up by snapping a header inside the far
post on a corner kick offering by Zimmerman. Bates' goal –
his first of the year – came in the 19
th
minute.
Harrison
Hanley, who took full advantage of his time as a reserve,
collected a loose ball inside the box, sent by
Danny Maeda, and fired home a shot from close range
just before halftime and the Broncos led 2-0.
SCU controlled the tempo until San Jose State (5-3) responded by
getting a goal back in the waning moments on a nice individual
effort by Nick Cashmere.
"The team we don't want to end up being is a pretty,
possession-oriented team that everybody thinks plays great soccer,
but then asks 'what's your record' and it's not a good record,"
said Rast. "We want to be a team that is effective. You score goals
in the attacking end at that's where the ball needs to be for
us."
Rast improved his home record at Buck Shaw Stadium to 50-13-16
during his nine seasons as head coach. Historically the games
between SCU and SJSU have been extremely competitive, with the
Broncos now holding a 22-19-4 all-time edge.
The Broncos will travel to Sacramento to take on a surging
Sacramento State University team Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The
Hornets are coming off their best season in school history,
advancing into the NCAA Tournament Second Round and is off to a 5-2
start this year.
Photo: Santa Clara's Mykell Bates scores in the first half; photo
by Denis Concordel
