Cox scores lone goal for the Irish.

October 10, 1998

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The 22nd-ranked University of Notre Dame men's soccer team dropped a 3-1 victory to 17th-ranked Santa Clara in the first of two West coast contests for the Irish this weekend. The Broncos scored all three of their goals in the second half to defeat Notre Dame.

Notre Dame opened the scoring when junior Ryan Cox (Broadview Hts., Ohio) converted a penalty kick at 39:31. The Irish received the penalty kick when Santa Clara defender Keith Burden was whistled for a hand ball near the edge of the penalty box.

The Irish would control the game's tempo over the final 15 minutes of the half as Notre Dame outshot Santa Clara 10-7 in the first 45 minutes.

Momentum shifted in the second half as the home team owned an 8-1 shot advantage. The Broncos quickly got on the board as they netted the tying goal just 20 seconds into the second half when Justin Canel dropped down the right flank and found a wide open Joe Ascolese at the penalty spot. Ascolese one-timed the cross past Irish goalkeeper Greg Velho (Longwood, Fla.) who dove for the ball.

The Broncos scored the go-ahead goal just six minutes later when Michael Goehring drilled a 12-yard shot into the upper portion of the goal off a Brett Davis cross at the 51:46 mark.

Santa Clara added its final goal at 74:03 when Davis took Burden's feed and blasted it 20 yards into the lower left corner of the goal.

With the loss, Notre Dame drops to 5-3-3 on the season, while Santa Clara improves to 8-2-1.

The Irish continue play on the West coast when they travel to Saint Mary's for a 2:00 p.m. contest on Sunday, Oct. 11.