PORTLAND, Ore. – Santa Clara men's soccer earned a hard fought league point on the road against Portland, battling to a 0-0 draw in a West Coast Conference match on Friday night at Merlo Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Santa Clara (3-5-2, 0-1-1 WCC) withstood the early pressure from Portland (2-4-4, 0-0-1 WCC) in the opening 45 minutes. The Pilots dominated play for much of the first half, holding an 11-1 advantage in shots and 7-0 in corner kicks. Five of the shots were on frame with Jack Stoecker turning back three of them and a pair were cleared off the line by the Bronco defense.
- Despite their concise passing, the Pilots were unable to find the finishing touch as the Broncos weathered the storm to a scoreless first half.
- The Broncos attack came alive in the second half as Baronyi Kengeye nearly scored the first goal of the match in the 52nd minute when his shot hit off the post.
- Santa Clara had another opportunity in the 74th minute on Tyler Tipton's close range header that was saved by Kash Oladapo.
- Those two near misses by the Broncos were part of a seven shot offensive output in the second half compared to six shots for the Pilots.
NOTABLE NUMBERS / GAME NOTES:
- Santa Clara leads the series 25-21-9.
- Stoecker was credited with four saves to post his second clean sheet of the season. Oladapo had three saves for his first shutout of the year.
- Three of the eight shots were on target for SCU compared to 6 of 17 for Portland.
- Junior defender Naji Elder returned to action for the first time since starting the season opener and played 78 minutes.
HIGHLIGHTS:
POST-GAME COMMENTS:
Head Coach Cam Rast on the team's defensive play:
"First, the team paid attention to details we've been asking. And second,
Naji Elder returned to the back line. Having him back solidified our defending shape and it was great for us and great for him."
Rast on the team's second half play:
"Portland took it us in the first half and they had some good chances but to be fair, our chances were better. One was off the post and another was a free header. We had some really good looks there in the second half."
Rast on his overall thoughts on the game:
"We were able to dodge them in the first half in a tough league road game. I don't necessarily feel good about a tie but it could have gone against us also. It was a better overall 90 minute performance from us so from that perspective, I was pleased with things."
NEXT UP:
- Santa Clara is back at Steven Stadium to host Saint Mary's in a WCC match on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m.
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