Oct. 16, 2005

Box Score

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Ryan Wolfe beat Gonzaga University keeper Vito Higgins low to the right corner at 9:07 and ninth-ranked Santa Clara University made the goal stand up for a 1-0 West Coast Conference men's soccer victory Sunday at Buck Shaw Stadium.

The Bulldogs dropped their fourth straight match to SCU dating back to the 2003 season. The Broncos took both meetings last year in the first season of WCC double round robin play, 1-0 in Spokane and 2-0 at SCU. Gonzaga's last win in the series was a 1-0 home verdict in 2002.

Gonzaga (2-6-3, 0-3-1) is winless in its last eight matches since opening the season 2-0-1. The Broncos (10-3-0, 4-1-0) moved into sole possession of first place in the WCC.

Wolfe's goal was his second of the season and was assisted by Kelechi Igwe. It appeared Igwe was going to take the shot and Higgins moved to his right in anticipation, but with his back to the goal Igwe slipped a pass to his left to the open Wolfe who easily found the lower right corner of the net.

Neither team mounted much of a serious threat the remainder of the match as most of the action took place in the middle of the field.

The Bulldogs did have one last solid chance to tie when with 17 seconds left Luke Miller was going in one--on-one on SCU defender Jide Ogunbiyi in the penalty area. But Miller was unable to get a clean, hard shot away and he pushed the ball toward the goal where Sweeny collected it and time expired.

SCU held a 9-4 edge in shots. Higgins had six saves in the Gonzaga net as he kept the Broncos from adding an insurance tally while keeping the Bulldogs within striking range. SCU keeper Kevin Sweeny had a pair of saves as the Bulldogs suffered their fourth shutout of the season.

Gonzaga will face the University of Portland twice this week. The Pilots visit Thursday for a 2 p.m. match and the teams play in Portland Saturday at 7 p.m.

Gonzaga officials are confident the Bulldogs will be able to return to Martin Field after heavy rains the first weekend of October left Gonzaga's field unplayable. An Oct. 2 match with the University of San Diego was postponed and an Oct. 9 match against Saint Mary's College was moved to Eastern Washington University's Sports and Recreation Complex. A decision is expected early in the week as to the condition of Martin Field.