Local Teams Present Tough Tests for Bronco Men's Soccer

Friday, Sept. 24, 5:30 p.m. (DH)
San Jose State @ Santa Clara (M) - Live Stats | Video
Oregon @ Santa Clara (W) – Live Stats | Video
Sunday, Sept. 26, 1 p.m.
Santa Clara (M) @ Sacramento State – Live Stats

WEEKEND NOTES
*Santa Clara is led by ninth-year head coach Cameron Rast (95-51-29)
*Under Rast the Broncos are 49-13-16 at Buck Shaw Stadium
*The all-time series between SCU and SJSU, which dates back to 1967, has been extremely competitive with the Broncos holding a 21-19-4 all-time edge
*SCU and San Jose State played to a scoreless tie last year at Spartan Stadium
*An Erik Hurtado goal gave SCU a 1-0 victory over Sacramento State last season
*The Broncos have historically dominated Sacramento State, winning 24 of 26 meetings

*Sacramento State won the MPSF last season and advanced into the NCAA's Second Round
*The Hornets are coming off a stunning 2-0 upset over No. 10 UC Irvine Sunday
*Santa Clara will need two wins this weekend to avoid a third-straight losing season against non-league opponents – a notable change from a team which posted winning records in non-conference play in each of Rast's first six seasons as head coach
*WCC play begins next week with road games at Gonzaga and Portland

FRIDAY'S PROMOTIONS!
Immediately following the men's game against San Jose State the Ruff Riders (Santa Clara's official student booster club) will be offering FREE pizza for club members on the east-side concourse. Additionally, the men's soccer team will be signing autographs after the game near the entrance plaza. The women's team will be throwing out FREE t-shirts during introductions of their game against Oregon, courtesy of Cal Custom. The first 500 fans for the women's game will receive a motion-activated Santa Clara logo flag.

TICKETS (BUY NOW!)
Season tickets for both men's and women's soccer programs start at $50 for adults and $25 for youth and seniors. Additionally, the 'Family Plan' provides five tickets to every home game for the sport of your choice.  For just $100, a family of five can watch every SCU men's soccer match. To buy tickets online click here, or visit the Leavey Center ticket office (500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, Calif.) or by calling directly at 408-554-4660.

LIVE COVERAGE
Friday night's game will be broadcast live online via Santa Clara's official athletic website (SantaClaraBroncos.com). Charles Wollin (play-by-play) will call the action live from Buck Shaw Stadium. The fee to watch SCU soccer online is $29.95 for the entire home season or $7.95 per match.  Additionally, a FREE live scoring feed will be available on (SantaClaraBroncos.com).

SANTA CLARA (2-4)
The Broncos and three-time WCC Coach of the Year Cameron Rast, fields a talented young team that starts seven underclassmen and four true freshmen. SCU is playing its final two non-conference games before WCC play begins next weekend with a trip to the Northwest to play Gonzaga (Oct. 1) and Portland (Oct. 3). Four of Santa Clara's six opponents thus far have come from power conferences, most recently losing to No. 25 California 2-1 and preseason No. 13 Stanford 4-1. Sophomore forward Erik Hurtado is one of the most exciting forwards to watch on the West Coast. Despite continually being marked each time out, Hurtado has fired off a team-leading 15 shots, scoring unassisted to spark a comeback bid against Cal last week. All-league junior Brandon Zimmerman anchors the SCU midfield. Freshmen Keigo Kameya and Carlos Montes have been immediate impact players up front.

SAN JOSE STATE (5-2)
A veteran Spartan team – who finished third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) last season – was picked to finish fifth in the league this year. Probably a bit underrated and the Spartans are proving that with a strong start through seven games this fall. Returning eight starters and 14 lettermen, SJSU beat Loyola Marymount 2-1 Sunday at Spartan Stadium. SJSU is 3-1 at home, also topping UC Riverside and CS Monterey Bay while losing to St. Mary's. They have played two true road games, losing in overtime to UC Davis and winning at Cal State Fullerton. Five of the team's 13 goals have come from senior Josh Boemecke who ranks among the national leaders in offensive statistics and was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week on Sept. 12.

SACRAMENTO STATE (4-2)
The Sacramento State program is on the rise. The Hornets won the MPSF last season, going 6-0-1 within conference and 12-6-3 overall. They not only went to the NCAA College Cup Tournament for the first time in program history in 2009, they won their first round game against LMU 2-1. Long-time head coach Michael Linenberger returns eight starters from that team. An impressive 2010 season thus far has seen the Hornets win three-straight, winning at Stanford (1-0) two weeks ago before beating LMU (1-0) and No. 10 UC Irvine (2-0) at home last weekend.

SCU HEAD COACH CAMERON RAST
Santa Clara University alumnus Cameron Rast is in this ninth season at the helm of Bronco men's soccer. He has led his alma mater to five NCAA tournament appearances and three West Coast Conference titles. Six of his student-athletes have been named All-Americans and 13 have moved on to play professional soccer. A former All-America player on Santa Clara's National Championship team of 1989 and U.S. Olympic Team captain in 1992, Rast took over as SCU head coach in 2002 after eight seasons as an assistant coach. Under his guidance the Broncos won the WCC title in 2003 and claimed back-to-back conference championships in 2006 and 2007. Rast owns a 95-51-29 career record at Santa Clara and is 49-13-16 all-time at Buck Shaw Stadium. 

QUOTABLE
"We weren't quite sharp enough and didn't make the right adjustments when we needed to and that's a sign of a young group," said SCU head coach Cameron Rast after the Broncos' 2-1 loss to No. 25 California last weekend. "We started four freshmen and I think that is great for our future, but we learned some lessons."

EARLY-SEASON HONORS

All-Tournament Team @ Marquette Invitational (9/12)
Erik Hurtado
Brandon Zimmerman
All-Tournament Team @ UC Irvine Collegiate Classic (9/6)
Brandon Zimmerman
Carlos Montes

SANTA CLARA TRADITION
1 National Championship
5 College Cup Final Fours
18 NCAA Tournaments
52 Future Professionals
10 WCC Championships
8 Seasons of 15+ wins
4 Teams ranked No. 1 nationally
13 Teams ranked in top 5 nationally
208-78-35 at Buck Shaw Stadium
184-117-41 vs. WCC all-time

UP NEXT
WCC play begins next weekend with road games at Gonzaga (Oct. 1) and Portland (Oct. 3).

NEXT HOME GAME
San Francisco visits Buck Shaw Stadium Friday, October 8. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.