Oct. 20, 2002
Box Score
SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University thrust itself right into the thick of the West Coast Conference men's soccer chase with a 1-0 victory over visiting Santa Clara University on a spring like Sunday at Martin Field.
The Bulldogs (3-7-1, 1-0-1) topped the Broncos (6-5-1, 0-2-0) at home for the fourth straight time. The University of Portland, the final opponent on the Bulldogs' schedule Nov. 16 in Portland, ran its WCC mark to 3-0-0 with a 1-0 victory at Loyola Marymount on Sunday as LMU evened its record at 1-1. USF, which didn't open WCC play until last Friday's 4-0 win over Saint Mary's College, joins Portland and Gonzaga as the only WCC teams without a loss.
Scott Yuska scored the lone goal of Sunday's match at 52:36, his team-leading third of the season. Grayson Tenney had a throw in from the far sideline, and Yuska drove home the unassisted goal from 16 yards straightaway as it ping-ponged out of the goal box following the throw in.
The Bulldogs, with freshmen Grayson Tenney starting on defense in place of the injured Tryggvi Bjornsson and joining fellow freshman Robert Anderson at centerback, held Jamil Walker (8 goals), Will Weatherly (4 goals) and Kelechi Igwe (3 goals) to just two shots in the match - both by Weatherly and neither one of them on goal.
"We didn't do anything special. We just did a good job of taking away their space and slowing them down so they couldn't get a run at the ball," Gonzaga head coach Einar Thorarinsson said of the defensive effort.
SCU held the territorial advantage in the first half, holding an 8-1 shots advantage, although several of the shots were harmless and not on goal. The best scoring opportunity for the Broncos came at 25:58 when Kirk Fonseca drilled a hard shot from the right wing that was off Gonzaga keeper Mike McCarthy's chest and cleared.
Gonzaga didn't get its first shot of the match until 44:41 when freshman Kari Arnason blasted a hard shot from the right wing that went off SCU keeper Kent Harkness' hands.
The Bulldogs came back the second half and held more of the territorial advantage, the Broncos still taking a 5-4 edge in shots for the half. SCU's Audren Cashman hit a free kick high over the net, and Weatherly's attempted header at 81:43 went over the net.
After a disappointing 2-7-0 record in non-conference play and a 1-1 tie at home against Saint Mary's College to open WCC play, Thorarinsson said the goal of his team is to win out.
"We can't afford to drop a match," Thorarinsson said. "We were never out of the title chase, and these guys want to win out."
Gonzaga concludes its home season Friday against USF at 2 p.m.
