Sept. 10, 2000

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -

The second-ranked Santa Clara women's soccer team defeated sixth-ranked Connecticut 2-1 in sudden-victory overtime this afternoon at Alumni Field, completing play at the KeyBank Classic in South Bend, Ind.

The Broncos, now 3-2-0, ended a two-match losing streak, Santa Clara's first in six seasons. In September 1994, Santa Clara lost three straight to Loyola Marymount, Stanford and North Carolina.

Connecticut falls to 1-2-1.

Rain and strong winds greeting both teams as overtime began. But freshman Veronica Zepeda's rebound off her own deflected shot scored the game-winner at 99:01 to end the match. It was Zepeda's second goal of the season.

Senior forward Kathleen Celio scored her fifth goal of the season at the 70:26 mark. She received a pass from freshman Kristi Candau, but her first shot was deflected by a Husky defender. Celio scored on the rebound, 2 yards out.

Connecticut posted a 1-0 lead at the 35:11 mark when Mary-Frances Monroe sailed a shot over Bronco goalie Alice Gleason.

"This win wouldn't be possible without a complete team effort," head coach Jerry Smith said. "It's as gutty a performance as an SCU team has had in several years. It feels so good to score a come-from-behind victory. We haven't had to do that in a long time. The heart, determination and mental toughness they showed

The Classic ranks as the nation's premier regular-season women's soccer tournament and is the only Division I tournament in the 2000 season that features four teams from the NSCAA's top-10 poll: No. 2 Santa Clara, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 6 Connecticut and No. 10 Stanford.

Santa Clara has competed against Connecticut seven times in the last 10 years, but this was the first regular-season meeting since 1993. The Broncos now lead the series 6-2-0, winning the last six contests. Three of those wins in the last four years eliminated the Huskies from the NCAA Quarterfinals (1996, '98, '99).

The Broncos return to California for the Stanford Classic and will begin the tournament against No. 9 Maryland at 5 p.m. on Fri., Sept. 15.

Team            1       2       OT      Final
Connecticut     1       0       0       1
Santa Clara     0       1       1       2

Shots
Connecticut     13
Santa Clara     16

Goalie Saves
Yatrakis        6
Gleason         5

Goal Summary
UCONN Mary-Frances Monroe (Sarah Popper, Salla Ranta) 35:11 UCONN, 1-0
SCU Kathleen Celio (Kristi Candau) 70:26 Tie, 1-1
SCU Veronica Zepeda (unassisted) 99:01 SCU, 2-1