Senior Night stalemate for USD

A clutch goal from senior Allen Luhrs isn’t enough as USD can’t break through in 1-1 tie versus Broncos

Eric Boose / Asst. Sports Editor / The USD Vista

Senior forward Allen Luhrs scored his first goal of the season in his final game and senior defender Josiah Benjamin led a nearly unbreakable defense as the Torero men’s soccer team earned a 1-1 tie against the visiting Santa Clara Broncos on Friday night.

Eighteen minutes into the game, Luhrs deflected defender Chase Van Wey’s cross toward the far post of the Santa Clara goal. Bronco goalkeeper Dakota Havlick managed to get his hands on the shot, but could not keep the ball out of the back of the net, and Luhrs had his first goal of the season. The goal tied the game for the Toreros, but it meant much more to Luhrs. 

“There are a couple other goals out there that I thought were number one, but this one was up there for sure,” Luhrs said. “You know, this was my last time playing competitive soccer, collegiate soccer for sure, and I actually started tearing up after I scored because that was probably the last one.”

The visitors had taken the lead only six minutes after the start of the match, as Bronco forward Andres Jimenez, also a senior, tapped the ball into the net after a pass from midfielder Miles Robinson slipped through the Toreros defense. 

After allowing the early goal, the Torero defense looked unbreakable. Benjamin won every aerial pass that came near him, leading a defense that blocked six of Santa Clara’s nine shots. 

Thanks to Luhrs’ goal, the Toreros managed to find their footing offensively as well, and the home team had multiple chances to grab a second goal.

Only a few minutes after Luhrs scored, Benjamin found forward Miguel Berry with a long pass, but Berry’s shot was right at Havlick. Ten minutes later, the Toreros got another chance from a long pass, as defender Henry Lander sent a floating pass nearly 50 yards to midfielder Jimmy Ryan, but Ryan was unable to generate a shot on goal. 

While the Toreros had momentum, the Broncos had a couple chances to score again in the first half as well, but San Diego goalkeeper Matt Wiher did well to deny Bronco midfielder Javier Ruiz Duran after a breakaway. The Broncos best chance for a second goal came just before the hour mark, as Wiher charged out of his goal but could not get his hands on the ball. Fortunately for the Toreros, Robinson’s shot flew high and wide of the empty net.

With the score still 1-1 after 90 minutes of soccer, the teams headed into overtime, the eighth overtime of the season for each team. The Toreros had three golden opportunities to win the game in the first overtime period, including a chance for Luhrs to grab his second goal of the night. Luhrs got a chance one-on-one against Havlick, but his shot was poor and went straight to the Bronco goalkeeper. Neither team had a better chance to score, and the game finished as a 1-1 tie after two overtime periods.

Toreros head coach Brian Quinn felt that his team was the better of the two for much of the game, but that Santa Clara was a strong opponent.

“I felt we started off slow at the beginning of the game, and Santa Clara took advantage of our slackness at the start of the game, but from then on after that, the other 80 minutes in regulation I thought we were the better team,” Quinn said. “Not by much, but we were the better team and then when we got to overtime we had the best three chances in the first 10 minutes of overtime where Ross Meldrum played a nice little one-two, had a chance but the goalkeeper saved it, and then Allen Luhrs had a breakaway, just a missed touch, another chance, and then Meldrum had another chance, so that first part of overtime we were on the ascendency and just didn’t get the goal we needed to end it.”

Despite not getting a win, Luhrs appreciated the energy of the whole team during his final game in a San Diego uniform.

“The entire day, everybody was banging on the lockers, we were all pumped up,” Luhrs said. ”We came out here to fight, and that’s what we did. We left it all on the table, and that’s all I can ask of the guys for Senior Night, and we gave them one hell of a game.”

The game was not only senior night, but the season finale, Coach Quinn’s first as the man in charge of the team after 11 years as an assistant coach. 

After the game, Quinn reflected on what he learned over his first year as head coach.

“Every single game is on the edge to be won or lost, irrespective of who you’re playing,” Quinn said. “Doesn’t matter if it’s a top-10 team in the country, like a St. Mary’s or a Portland who we battled to ties. Or we go to Lipscomb and Belmont were difficult, difficult games, so that’s what I learned, number one. The second thing is, if I was trying to encapsulate how I personally feel, it was, in one word, enjoyable.”

Quinn also mentioned how special Senior Night was for the team. 

“In any sport, Senior Night never gets old,” Quinn said. “I think it’s a testament to what kids go through in regards to being a Divison I athlete, putting in the time. They know what’s required, there’s ups and there’s downs, there’s no smooth sailing all the way through. What’s pleasing for me is when you see their families and how much they have put in to the last four years for kids here at USD, but probably the last 14 years for these kids playing soccer and reaching Division I status.” 

Quinn went so far as to pick this game as the best moment of his team’s season.

“I think the first time when you honor the seniors and you see how much this university means to them, how much it has meant to them over the last four years, three years, two years depending on how long they’ve been here,” Quinn said. “And then their families have traveled from different parts of the world to be here. Mr. Brandt, from Sweden; Mr. Benjamin and his wife from London; and then also the Kennedys from Ireland. So, that’s what it means to me, and I thought that was one of my most enjoyable moments, today.”

With the tie, USD men’s soccer   finishes the season with a 3-1-3 record in the West Coast Conference, good for fourth place. Their final overall record stands at 7-7-5.