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Bulldogs Drop Home Overtime Decision To Santa Clara 1-0
Oct. 30, 2009
SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University turned the ball over in front of its goal and Santa Clara University's Eric Masch was the man on the spot as he drilled a shot from the right top of the penalty box into the far left side of the net to give the visiting Broncos a 1-0 overtime victory in a West Coast Conference men's soccer match Friday. Masch's goal, his fifth of the season, came at 92:44. "I don't know what happened, but there just seemed to be a communication breakdown," Gonzaga head coach Einar Thorarinsson said of the unfortunate miscue that ended an otherwise entertaining match. "It's Scott's (keeper Barnum) call in that situation and it seemed like everybody thought the other guy was going to clear the ball." The Bulldogs (5-7-3; 2-5-1) had their chances, especially in a dominating first half. The Bulldogs held a 13-6 shots advantage over the Broncos (4-9-3; 2-5-1). Gonzaga had a chance to score early, Tye Perdido's shot from 18 yards off the left wing stopped by diving SCU keeper Haushad Godrej in just the third minute. Ben Funkhouser had a shot from the left side of the six knocked out of harm's way by the defense in the 24th minute and it was Perdido again denied by Godrej on a point-blank shot from the top of the six in the 32nd minute. The best scoring chance for the Broncos in the first half came in the sixth minute when the Bulldogs committed a giveaway on a throw in and Barnum handled Ross Smith's chest-high shot from the top of the 18. The Broncos came out in the second half and had most of the territorial advantage through the first 15 minutes of the half, but most of the Bronco shots were from long range. Funkhouser almost broke up the scoreless battle in the 65th minute when his left-footed shot from the top of the 18 off a left-to-right cross just curled wide right past the post. Mykell Bates tested Barnum with a header off a free kick in the 67th minute for the Broncos, and Perdido's shot off a thru ball from 12 yards off the left side skipped wide left in the 69th minute.
Perdido had one of the best opportunities of the match, stealing the ball near mid-field and dribbling to the top left of the 18, but his shot was high as he hurried the shot with two defenders in pursuit. He also had what appeared to be a harmless header off a throw in directed for the right post, but Godrej was slow to react before getting over in time to make the save in the 87th minute. Perdido had nine shots and Funkhouser four as they combined for 13 of Gonzaga's 19 shots. "We just couldn't put away our chances," Thorarinsson said. Barnum, who leads the WCC in saves, added six more while Godrej had four in picking up his first shutout and first win in just his second match of the season. The loss was the first overtime setback for the Bulldogs at 2-year-old Gonzaga Soccer Field in five previous matches. Gonzaga was 2-0-3 at Gonzaga Soccer Field prior to Friday. The Bulldogs remain home Sunday to face Saint Mary's College at 1 p.m. |
