By Jimmy Sheldrup |
The Portland Pilots and the Santa Clara Broncos battled it out on a rainy Merlo Field on Saturday night. The Pilots (2-10-3, 0-4-0 West Coast Conference) lost the WCC match-up 3-2. Portland has yet to win a game in conference.
Santa Clara got off to a quick start, scoring in minute eight to take an early lead.
Even with the one point cushion, the Broncos continued to harass the Pilots on defense, attempting as many as three shots in three minutes. The Broncos looked for quick goals off crosses, but the Pilots defense stepped up and didn’t allow another goal for the rest of the half.
The first half ended with a score of 1-0, in favor of the Broncos.
The Pilots came out gunning in the second half. In minute 50, Eddie Sanchez scored his fourth goal of the year to equalize the game off a pass from Brandon Zambrano. The second half marked a shift in the play of the Pilots.
“We had a talk at halftime, we wanted to be much more active,” Jacob Hanlin said. “We were weak, and we wanted to change that."
The Pilots took the lead in minute 74. Zambrano sent the ball to Hugo Rhoades, who pushed the ball right in the middle of the box for a straightaway goal for Jacob Hanlin. This was Hanlin’s first career goal.
Paul Christensen made a big save in minute 80, pushing a shot that was about to dribble into the goal out of bounds. Not three minutes later, Christensen again made another save, jumping backwards and slapping a potential equalizer away.
The Pilots were in control of the momentum, and the Broncos got more physical. In minutes 71, 78 and 83, the Broncos were assigned yellow cards. Eddie Sanchez did not return to the game after sustaining an injury from a Santa Clara player.
The Broncos were given a penalty kick in minute 86. Leading up to the kick, Colby Trah was assigned two yellow cards for shoving Broncos players and the Pilots had to play a man down. The Broncos scored, equalizing the game.
Still playing one man short, the Pilots were unable to convert any of their final possessions into goals. The game headed to overtime with a score of 2-2.
Twenty-two seconds into overtime, the Broncos blasted a shot that bounced off the pole and into the goal to end the game with a final score of 3-2.
“We gave it to them,” Hanlin said.
The Pilots continue conference action on Sunday on Merlo Field against San Fransisco.
Jimmy Sheldrup is a sports reporter for The Beacon. He can be contacted at sheldrup18@up.edu or on Twitter @CJSheldrup.
