Santa Clara (12-1-4, 5-0-2) moved on to the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 2-1 win over Akron (9-6-3, 2-3-1) on Thursday night. The match was played under difficult conditions at FirstEnergy Stadium, with high winds and 30-degree temperatures throughout.
The Broncos’ Eduardo Lopez Perez ended the match in the second minute of the second overtime, scoring on a rebound after goalkeeper Will Meyer made a diving save on a shot by Oladayo Thomas.
Akron struck first in the 26th minute, after Broncos’ goalkeeper Ruben Stuiver deflected Tobias Bak’s shot over the endline. On the subsequent corner kick, Jonas Buechte found Carlo Ritaccio in a crowd of players at the far post. Ritaccio leaped above a Bronco defender to head the ball home.
The Broncos evened the match 2 minutes into the second half. Santa Clara took the ball away in the attacking half. Thomas quickly distributed the ball to Javier Ruiz Duran, who hit a one-timer toward the far post. Tyrone Kirunda converted with a sliding finish.
The Zips outshot the Broncos 17-3 in the match, but Santa Clara’s offense was extremely efficient, with all three of their shots contributing to their two goals.
The Broncos move on to play at #9 Kentucky on Sunday.
