MORAGA, Calif. – Santa Clara men's soccer bounced back from an early deficit to score three unanswered goals to take the West Coast Conference opener 3-1 over Saint Mary's on Saturday afternoon.  Adem Hamdaoua had a hand in all three Bronco scores as he tallied a goal and assisted in the other two goals. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Saint Mary's (5-3-2, 0-1-0 WCC) scored just 18 seconds into the match when Wade Muttitt picked up the loose ball in front of the goal off an unsuspecting Bronco defender's back and rolled it into the back of the net. 
• Hamdaoua leveled the match at 1-all on a set piece goal in the 40th minute.  His shot from 25 yards out deflected off the wall and past the flatfooted Gaels goalkeeper Jack Landreth. 
• In the final minute before halftime, Will Wiersdorf sent a ball across the box from right to left to an unmarked Jack Civitts who curled a right-footed shot to the far post to put Santa Clara up 2-1. 
• Santa Clara's (3-5-2, 1-0-0 WCC) final goal came in the 66th minute when Tyrone Kirunda cleaned up a save by Landreth to put the game out of reach at 3-1.  On the play, Hamdaoua's shot to the upper right corner was saved by a diving Landreth but Kirunda was in the right place at the right time to bury home the rebound.

NOTABLE NUMBERS:

• 3: Three goals were disallowed due to offsides in the first 28 minutes of action, two by Saint Mary's and one by Santa Clara.  
• .666: Four of the six shots were on frame for the Broncos.
• The Broncos used the same starting XI for the third consecutive game after using different starting combinations in each of the first eight games.

POST-GAME COMMENTS:

Head Coach Cam Rast on the game:
"When a season is not going as well as you want to, you need to continue to focus on what we can do better.  And one of those things is how to fight in the game.  We got down early today and there were some goals that were called back on each side but we fought through it.  We played good soccer today and dealt with the difficult style of play that Saint Mary's presents.  I'm very pleased with the result and our mentality to willing to push through adversity."

On Hamdaoua's play:
"Adem brings so much energy.  He was trying so hard but he got the free kick which he is really good at.  He took it well and we were fortunate to get the deflection.  And with the assists, he was in the spots to affect the outcome and that is a credit to him."  

NEXT UP:

• Santa Clara hosts Portland in the WCC home opener on Friday at 7 p.m. PT. 

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