Zags Start Conference Season with Win
10/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Box Score
SANTA CLARA, Calif.—The Gonzaga University men's soccer team started West Coast Conference play Friday night, and the Zags opened with a bang, beating Santa Clara 2-1 at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
"It was a good win for the guys tonight," said Gonzaga head coach Einar Thorarinsson. "You have to give Santa Clara credit for fighting back, our guys were pressured for the better part of 30 minutes in the second half. We found a way to battle back, though."
The win is Gonzaga's first win to open WCC play since 2008 when they beat Portland by the same 2-1 score. Also with the victory, Gonzaga beat Santa Clara for the first time since Oct. 31 of the same year, snapping a 10 match losing streak to the Broncos.
The Zags got on the board in the 19th minute Friday night. They drew a foul in a dangerous position for a set piece opportunity, and Jakob Granlund stepped up to take the free kick. The sophomore connected with fellow sophomore Graison Le, who finished off the play for his second goal of the season.
Granlund had a shot on goal for himself seven minutes later, the only other shot on target by either team of the half. Santa Clara keeper Kendall McIntosh made the save, however. The Zags outshot Santa Clara 6-5 in the opening period.
The Broncos' first shot on target came in the 54th minute when Carlos Delgadillo fired a high knuckler to the center of the frame just below the crossbar. Gonzaga keeper Ben Willis made the high save and came down with the ball, ending the scoring threat for Santa Clara. The hosts evened the match five minutes later when a ball lose in the Gonzaga box bounced in the net off a GU defender.
The Zags got the winning goal in the 79th minute with Le again involved with the scoring action. He found Lars Ludwigs in the middle of the box with a hard pass. The senior midfielder then put the ball on his left foot and slid a shot past McIntosh for his first of the season.
Clark Phillips led the Zags with three shots, while Granlund, Ludwigs, and Lee all took one shot on goal. Willis made three saves on the night after facing 11 Bronco shots.
With the three-point match, Le is now third on the squad with five points on the year. His two goals put him tied for the team lead with Granlund and Conner Bevans.
Santa Clara outshot the Zags 11-7 with a 6-1 margin in the second half. Only four of those shots were on target, however. McIntosh made just one save on the night, allowing two of the three Gonzaga shots on frame to find the back of the net.
Gonzaga (3-9-0, 1-0-0 WCC) looks to make it a perfect start to the conference season with a match at San Francisco Sunday, Oct. 19. The Zags and the Dons will kick off at 2:30 p.m. at Negoesco Stadium in San Francisco.
