Sept. 28, 2015
San Jose, Calif. - The San José State men's soccer team completes the non-conference portion of its schedule this week hosting Bay Area rival Santa Clara and then wraps up the weekend with the opening of Western Athletic Conference play at Incarnate Word.
San Jose State Spartans (2-5-0)
vs.
Santa Clara Broncos (4-5-0)
Thursday, October 1, 2015, 7:00 p.m.
Spartan Stadium, San Jose, Calif.
Live stats at www.sjsuspartans.com
at
Incarnate Word (4-2-0)
Sunday, October 4, 2015, 11:30 a.m.
Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium, San Antonio, Texas
Streaming video and live stats at www.sjsuspartans.com
MANI HERNANDEZ NAMED TO THE SAN JOSE SPORTS HALL OF FAME
Mani Hernandez (1965-68), the most awarded men's soccer player that San José State had produced, will be one of four Spartans inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame in November. Hernandez was a two-time NSCAA All-American and earned the Hermann Trophy (the soccer equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) following the 1968 season in which he tallied 25 goals, assisted on 12 more and led the Spartans to the NCAA Semifinals.
ABOUT SAN JOSÉ STATE
The Spartans return home for their non-conference finale when they meet the Santa Clara Broncos on Thursday evening. The game takes place in Spartan Stadium, the team's first appearance there since moving to Spartan Soccer Field last year. The Spartans are undefeated at home this year outscoring its opponents 6-3 in two matches.
Rory Knibbs, one of four field players to start every match in 2015, leads the team in virtually every offensive category including shots (21), shots on goal (12), goals (4), game winners (2) and penalty kicks (1-for-1). Newcomer Alex Alcaraz tops the side with three assists. Freshman Zach Penner and junior Kyler McLaughlin have each scored a goal. Keeper Emmanuel Espinoza has played every minute for the Spartans letting in 13 of the 45 shots that have reached his line. His goals against average is 1.82 and he has a save percentage of .711.
The team's saves per game average of 4.57 is 38th best in the nation and its shots on goal per game average of 5.57 is 76th in the country. Individually, Alcaraz ranks 62nd in the nation in assists per game (0.43) and total assists (3). Knibbs is 47th in goals per game (0.57), 57th in total goals (4) and 32nd in shots on goal per game (1.71). Espinoza ranks 33rd in saves per game (4.57) and 36th in total saves (32).
Head Coach Simon Tobin is in his second season leading the Spartans. His SJSU record is currently 8-16-2 and his career record, in 28 seasons, is 313-205-56.
ABOUT SANTA CLARA
The Broncos enter the week with a 4-5-0 record but the team defeated No. 20 California last Friday, 2-1. Thursday's match will be the teams first away from home since August 30. They played seven games at home in September posting a 4-3-0 record.
Carlos Delgadillo has scored half of the team's eight goals this year and has assisted on one other. Keeper Kendal McIntosh has played all 800+ minutes this season with a 1.34 goals against average and a save percentage of .700. His record is 4-5-0 and he has one shutout.
Head Coach Cameron Rast is in his 13th season leading his alma mater and brought a 142-82-44 career record into 2015.
THE SERIES
Thursday's meeting will be the 63rd since 1954, with the Spartans holding a 30-26-6 advantage in the series. Before a one-year hiatus in 2014, the teams met in the regular season for 47 consecutive years, from 1967 to 2013. Last year the teams played an exhibition match, which ended in a 1-1 draw. In games played on the Spartans home field since 1980, SJSU is 7-8-2 and have to go back to a 2-1 result in 2003 for the last time they defeated Santa Clara at home, a span of five meetings.
ABOUT INCARNATE WORD
The Cardinals enter the week with a 4-2-0 record and riding a two-match winning streak. Two weeks ago the team defeated Wisconsin-Green Bay and Central Arkansas by a combined score of 10-1, but didn't compete last week. They are 3-0 and have a 13-1 goal differential at home in 2015.
Midfielder Noah Keats has provided the majority of the team's offense tallying seven goals and assisting on two others. The remainder of the side has combined for eight goals. Keeper Kieran O'Boyle started the first five games of the year and has a goals against average of 0.80 with a .857 save percentage his record is 3-2 with two shutouts.
Head coach Vince Martinez is in his fifth year leading the Incarnate Word program. In two years at the Division I level, his record is 17-21-2. His overall record, all with the Cardinals, is 46-28-2.
Before the Cardinals and Spartans meet on Sunday, UIW hosts CSU Bakersfield in its WAC opener on Friday night.
THE SERIES
This will be just the second meeting between these two schools, and the first on the Cardinals home field. The first match-up was in 2014 and UIW earned a 1-0 decision on Spartan Soccer Field.