SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Owen Knecht and Ura Miura each scored inside the opening 18 minutes, but three-straight goals from the Santa Clara Broncos were too much to handle as the Wolverines closed out non-conference play with a 3-2 defeat Friday night at Stevens Stadium.
"We put up a decent performance, but our defending let us down," said head coach Kyle Beckerman. "We'll get back to work and be ready for conference play."
The Wolverines got on the board in the sixth minute thanks to a stellar defensive play from Alejandro Silva. With the Broncos poised to jump out on the counterattack, Silva stepped in to steal the ball away and immediately sent Knecht on goal with a through ball, who tucked the ball just inside the far post.
Miura doubled the lead in the 18th minute when he cut in from the right side of the penalty area. Miura left Bronco keeper Felix Schaefer frozen on his line when his shot flicked off the near post and in.
Jason Smith was forced into action in the 28th minute when Damani Osei flicked a header that seemed destined for the upper 90, but Smith was able to swat the ball away to safety. Osei found the back of the net in the 40th minute, heading home a corner kick from Adem Hamdaoua.
Santa Clara dominated possession to open the second half, ultimately finding an equalizer in the 54th minute off another headed goal. Samuel Krommenhoek cleared the initial shot from James Redington off the line, but Redington was able to flick the ball back towards goal where Jesse Anamoo was able to head it into the bottom-right corner.
Miura almost had a brace in the 73rd minute when he fired off a shot just inside the penalty area, but Schaefer was able to parry the ball away.
Anamoo put the Broncos in front for good in the 77th minute when he chipped the ball over Smith, who had come off his line.
The Wolverines won't be in action for another three weeks until they travel to face Grand Canyon to open WAC play on October 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. MDT and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
