SANTA CLARA — Beginning conference season under the lights in the South Bay, the No. 11 San Diego men's soccer team (6-1-3, 0-0-1 WCC) battled Santa Clara (3-2-5, 0-0-1 WCC) to a scoreless draw on Saturday evening from Stevens Stadium. 

San Diego out shot the Broncos by an 11-7 margin in the WCC opener as Vicente Ayala led the way for the Toreros with three shots in the match. 

The Torero defense put together another stellar performance as they shut out Santa Clara as Lucca Adams recorded a save in the draw. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Getting the action started on Saturday night, USD immediately got on the offensive attack and earned a corner kick just two minutes into the match.
• The Toreros remained on the attack in the first half as Cesar Bahena made a great run and had a good look at the goal but his shot was collected by the Broncos' keeper. 
• Just a minute later, Bahena delivered a strong cross to Ayala for a good look at the goal but the shot was wide left to keep San Diego off the board. 
• Midway through the first half, Samy Kanaan made a nice run alongside Luca Fava that resulted in another USD chance but the shot was off target keeping the score even. 
• Santa Clara started to build some momentum late in the first half as they recorded a pair of off-target shots as both sides went into the locker room with the match scoreless. 
• Immediately out of the break, the Broncos went on the attack and generated a strong chance but the Santa Clara attempt was collected by Adams for the USD save. 
• A couple of minutes later, Taj Eagleston was able to get a shot off that was just left of the goal and created a free kick after a SCU foul. Bahena then fired a shot at the goal but it was off target as USD kept searching for the go-ahead score. 
• Playing a key role off the bench, Steven Ramirez got in on the action in the 70th minute with an off-target shot. 
• With less than 10 minutes remaining in the match, Eagleston fired a rocket that was collected by the Santa Clara kicker and led to a USD corner. 
• In the final minute of action, the Toreros had another chance following a corner kick but Noah James' shot off the cross hit right of the net as the match ended in a scoreless draw. 

TORERO TIDBITS

• Saturday night's draw with the Broncos was USD's first conference tie since October 25, 2023 when the Toreros played to a tie with LMU at Torero Stadium. 
• Adams has now posted consecutive clean sheets after shutting out UC San Diego last weekend at home. 
• Kevin Peña made his season debut for USD as he came off the bench in the 37th minute and played the remainder of the first half. 

UP NEXT
The Toreros now look forward to their first home conference match of the season as they will host San Francisco (5-2-1, 0-1-0 WCC) on Saturday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m. from Torero Stadium. Saturday night's match is Carnival Night with the first 100 fans receiving USD socks. Live video and live statistic links can be found via the team's schedule page.