New Mexico won over Cincinnati. I was going to say the Lobos were having a very rough non-league season so far, but noticed elsewhere you had the score reversed.
Has anyone seen San Francisco play this season? They were a fixture in the polls last year before injuries took there toll, and they went out to NM in the first round. Just from looking at the results (four goals vs. Alabama A&M and SJSU at home), it looks like the defense really misses Valentino and Uhl in goal. But they have been able to score, so this weekend vs. Cal and Stanford should tell a lot about the Dons.
Santa Clara 1 1 Stanford In their previous games, the Broncos started fast and then backed off a bit after scoring first. Last night they tried the reverse logic. The game really didn't get started until about the 75th minute when SCU started picking up the pace and the ref started going to his pocket to show yellow. Prior to that, both teams were content playing long balls and hoping for the odd goal or set piece bonanza. After that, it turned into a classic rivalry battle which one would expect when these teams meet. Somewhat against the run of play, Stanford broke the logjam with four minutes remaining, scoring on a header off a long free kick to the far post. Their celebration reflecting the thought that they'd pulled off the game winner. But SCU wasn't done and pressed hard for the deserving equalizer. It arrived with a mere 40 seconds on the clock with a free kick about 5 yards outside the corner of the box. Lowery stepped up and put it in a driven ball targeting two on-rushing Broncos. Stanford keeper Kartunen had to play the anticipated header, but the ball simply sailed past them and into the far netting. In overtime, Lowery should have put away the winner, receiving a nice centering pass at the top of the box with space that was quickly getting closed. His shot with only the keeper to beat ripped a few inches wide of the post. He also had a great opportunity on another free kick only to be spoiled by a teammate. After a Stanford foul a few yards off the top of the box, Stanford set up their wall with some Broncos intermingling. At the strike of the ball, Brian Martin tried bending over and backing away to create a space and Lowery was unfortunate to hit him in the head with a powerful strike that would have been on target. more later
I was at the USF game versus Cal and was surprised that USF was clearly the better team taking into account the current rankings. Valentino will surely be missed, but it looks like the team is just starting to find itself. Chris Rodd was pretty solid in the back. It looks like USF has been alternating goalies in the preseason and will not necessarily settle on a starter until conference play begins. This week, starting tonight, will be a good measure of what kind of team USF is as they play at Stanford tonight before hosting UCLA and New Mexico on Thursday and Saturday nights. It was also nice to see some of the SF Seals play well and get off to a good start. (Rodd and Victor Cortes)
Santa Clara plays Cal this afternoon at Berkeley, should be a good game between two perennial bay area heavyweights (ignoring Cal's current form this season). Look for SCU to get their first win over the bears since 2001.
Santa Clara 0, California 0 Game ends in a draw for the third straight time between the Broncos and the Golden Bears. Next week for Santa Clara: At San Jose State on Thursday, and at home vs UCLA on Saturday. Go Broncos!
USF beat Stanford 2-1 with a goal by Chris Rodd in the second half of the overtime. USF scored early in the game (I believe it was Connor Chinn) and then really bascically bunkered down and Stanford dominated the game from about midway through the first half until the end. The outshot USF by about 23-8 or something like that. After Friday night's win versus Cal, I was surprised that the team played so poorly. A win is a win though ... Now two more tough non conference games at home against UCLA and New Mexico.
Cal State Northridge upped their record to 3-1-1 with two shutout win in Vegas over Cleveland State and UNLV. Now they'll get into the meaty part of their schedule with non-conference home games against New Mexico and UCLA.
Santa Clara 2, San Jose State 0 on Thursday night. With the win, the Broncos improve to 4-1-2, with a huge game v. UCLA at Santa Clara's Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday at 7pm. A live video stream of the SCU - UCLA game will be available for a nominal fee at http://santaclarabroncos.cstv.com
Gauchos beat Columbia in SB 5-1. Next up is #6 Harvard on Sunday. The match was originally scheduled to be played in LMU but will take place in SB because of poor field conditions at LMU. LMU beat Harvard Friday night.
Just got back from the UCLA / Santa Clara game. It was a game that one may rightfully say would decide the label of the best west coast team of 2007. The Broncos pulled out a thrilling overtime, come from behind win in front of a boisterous home crowd. UCLA had the better of possession play in the first half and fairly went ahead on a beautiful long distance strike by Zaher into the side netting, who immediately fronted the student section with the index finger to pursed lips. And they went into the lockerrooms at the 1-0 mark. SCU came out after the break full of energy and looking for retribution. Their high pressure all over the pitch left UCLA struggling to string even a few passes or to find the SCU side of the field for long stretches. The game took a huge turn one third into the half when a UCLA player layed a wicked tackle and drew a red card. After that, UCLA went into a shell, hoping to hold off the SCU surge. The last 15 minutes had the Broncos penetrate down the left, right, and middle only to be turned back at the doorstep time after time. Finally, with 4 minutes in the balance, SCU put a long ball over the goal to the far side where the ball was pushed back towards the penalty spot where Lowery squeezed it between the diving keeper and the post. And into the OT they went, but that didn't last long as SCU finished them off 39 seconds in without a bit of a scramble in the box. I didn't see who got onto the final blow. With UCLA players sprawled on the ground, the Broncos showered their love on the crowd in front of the student section. They obviously saw this as a big win for the program.
The UCLA - Santa Clara rivalry is growing and should be great in years to come. In 2005 Lowry beat UCLA with two penalty kicks at Cal State Fullerton, in 2006 UCLA beat Santa Clara at UCLA 2-1 and the third year result falls to Santa Clara. Let's hope this series continues as it is some of the best college soccer being played.
Awesome writeup. Thanks for posting this. Although SCU has seemed snakebitten in "big games" the past few years, they pulled it off this year and proved who is the better team. Heres to the rest of the season, a WCC title, and lengthy run towards the college cup. GO SANTA CLARA BRONCOS!
Subject: CSU - Bakersfield It is my understanding that Bakersfield is in its first season as a Division I independent. However, Albyn Jones is placing them in his Divisioin II ratings. Anyone know for sure?
They're Division I. They're in the 2nd year of the 4-year transition period, which is the first year they are considered Division I. They aren't eligible for Division I championships until the 4 years are completed.
Thanks for the info. Albyn Jones needs to correct soccerratings.com Here are Jones' Div. I ratings for the top five nationally + west schools ranked through number 75 of the ratings (published on 9-20-07, so they should include games through 9-19): 1. Wake Forest 2. W. Va. 3. Va. 4. Harvard 5. U. Conn. 6. UC - Irvine 13. USF 14. UCLA 22. Santa Clara 24. Washington 26. Cal 30. UCSB 38. Gonzaga 40. New Mexico 44. Northridge 49. Stanford 52. SJSU 56. Davis 57. SD State 60. Portland 61. USD 71. Cal Poly http://soccerratings.com/index.php/Main_Page This is out of 206 total Division I teams ranked (leaving out Bakersfield, which he has ranked as 13th among 169 Division II teams).
San Diego State and UC Irvine mix it up this Saturday. Two Aztecs also garnered POW awards http://goaztecs.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/092407aaa.html