Box Score
THE RUNDOWN
Santa Clara, Calif. – The first West Coast Conference match of the season was a hard fought battle for the Dons, but they came up short losing 3-1 to Santa Clara.
The Dons got off to a strong start, controlling much of the early possession. USF was rewarded for their strong start when
Santiago Digiuseppe stepped for the first free kick of the game, sending the ball into the box, and defender
Matt Orr leaped up to head it home to give the Dons the 1-0 lead. Less than three minutes later, though, the Broncos top goal scorer Carlos Delgadillo sent a powerful shot past
Ruben Stuiver to level the scoring, 1-1.
With just minutes until the break, the Broncos came down the field and a pass from Alex Achramowicz was directed past Stuiver from six yards out by Miles Robinson to put the Broncos up 2-1 as the teams broke for half-time.
USF battled hard in the second half of the match, pressuring the Santa Clara back line but couldn't break them down. A free kick from
Aaron Lombardi that was parried out of play and a header from
Bryce Kaminski that went just over the cross bar highlighted the chances for the Dons.
With just eleven minutes left until full-time, the Broncos won a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. Valdemar Andersen stepped up to take the free kick and slotted it in the upper ninety to beat Stuiver and make it 3-1 to Santa Clara.
STATS OF THE GAME
- This was Orr's first goal on the season, as well as his first goal of his career.
- The assist for Digiuseppe was his first on the season.
- The second half proved to be a more physical battle than the first half as the Dons recorded six fouls compared to the eight for Santa Clara.
- The all-time series record goes to 35-26-10.
WHATS NEXT
The Dons return home to Negoesco Stadium on Friday, October 13 when they host Pacific under the lights at 7:00 p.m.
