Sept. 14, 2000
This Week
The 19th-ranked Santa Clara women's soccer team (3-2-0) continues its six-match stretch against opponents ranked in the top-25. This week will see No. 23 Maryland and No. 15 Virginia as opponents at the Stanford Classic in Stanford, Calif. The Broncos will open the tournament against Maryland on Friday and then conclude the Classic against Virginia on Sunday.
The Opponents
Friday match will mark only the second time Maryland and Santa Clara have met. The Broncos won the first contest 1-0. Maryland's 2000 record is identical to Santa Clara's at 3-2-0. Against Virginia, Santa Clara is 1-1-0. Virginia took a 1-0 overtime win at Buck Shaw in 1991, while Santa Clara won at Virginia 1-0 in 1995. Virginia is 2-2-0 on the season.
Last Week
Broncos Place Third at KeyBank Classic Santa Clara defeated sixth-ranked Connecticut 2-1 in sudden-victory overtime on Sept. 10, completing play at the KeyBank Classic at Notre Dame's Alumni Field in South Bend, Ind.
Rain and strong winds greeting both teams as overtime began. Freshman Veronica Zepeda's rebound off her own deflected shot scored the game-winner at 99:01. It was Zepeda's second goal of the season. Senior Kathleen Celio recorded her fifth goal of the season at the 70:26 mark, and like Zepeda, scored on her own rebound
"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 team show a lot of heart, determination and mental toughness."
Santa Clara opened the KeyBank Classic on Sept. 1 by dropping its second straight game, falling to fourth-ranked Notre Dame 6-1.
The difference was the depth," Smith said," as it takes over late in the match. We only had 13 healthy players today. We hung with them, but we were spent at the end of the game. They were a lot fresher during the last 15 minutes of the match."
Santa Clara's lone goal was scored by senior Celio.
The Classic is the nation's premier regular-season women's soccer tournament and is the only Division I tournament in the 2000 season that featured four teams from the NSCAA's top-10 poll: No. 2 Santa Clara, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 6 Connecticut and No. 10 Stanford.
Senior defender Heather Aldama and Zepeda were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Coming From Behind
With the win over Connecticut on Sept. 10, Santa Clara earned its first come-from behind victory in 70 matches, dating back more than four years. The Broncos were down 1-0 to the Huskies at the half, but recorded a 2-1 overtime victory. On Sept. 22, 1996, Santa Clara found itself down 1-0 at the half to Stanford, but scored two goals in the second period for a 2-1 win.
Rare Consecutive Losses
Santa Clara's back-to-back losses to Washington and Notre Dame last week marked the first time in six seasons that the Broncos have lost consecutive matches. In September 1994, Santa Clara lost three straight to Loyola Marymount, Stanford and North Carolina.
Shots on Goal
The loss to Notre Dame marked the first time in 19 matches that Santa Clara has been outshot by an opponent. North Carolina was the last team to outshoot Santa Clara, occurring Sept. 24, 1999. With its 23 shots, Notre Dame became only the fourth team in 10 years to have posted 20 or more shots against Santa Clara:
Year Opponent Opp Shts SC Shts Match Outcome 1992 North Carolina 25 5 UNC, 3-0 2000 Notre Dame 23 10 ND, 6-1 1994 Washington 23 18 2-2 Tie (2ot) 1993 North Carolina 22 8 UNC, 3-2 1993 Hartford 22 18 SCU, 2-0
Notre Dame Found the Net The six goals Santa Clara allowed Notre Dame in the Broncos' loss last week marked the most goals allowed by a Santa Clara squad since a 8-0 defeat to UC Davis in 1980. The Broncos have not allowed five goals since 1991, to North Carolina.
School-Record Streaks End with 2-1 Loss to Washington
Santa Clara fell to Washington 2-1 at Buck Shaw Stadium on Sept. 4, ending two streaks in the Bronco recordbooks. Santa Clara's 32-match home win streak and its 45-match regular season win streak was stopped. The last time Santa Clara suffered a home and regular season loss was Oct. 31, 1997, a 1-0 overtime defeat to WCC foe Portland.
"I've never been that concerned with streaks, especially those that carry over into a new season," head coach Jerry Smith said. "Every season is a new year, and our goal has always been to figure out what works and be the best team we can be come playoff time. Sometimes this process helps you get there. I actually feel good about being able to see how this team responds and comes back from a lossthis is the first time we can test that in two years, since the last two years our first loss ended the season."
Celio Scores Hat Trick in Sweep of Oregon
Senior forward Kathleen Celio scored her first career hat trick as Santa Clara swept Oregon 6-0 at Buck Shaw Stadium to open the Broncos' 2000 home schedule on Sept. 1. Celio scored her first goal :39 seconds into the match. She took a cross from sophomore midfielder Aly Wagner and headed the ball into the net. It was the program's fifth quickest all-time goal. She followed with headers at the 56:42 and 61:24 marks. Celio recorded her seventh point of the night on an assist to Kerry Cathcart's goal with :25 seconds remaining in the match.
In the Rankings
Santa Clara dropped 17 spotsfrom second to 19thafter losing two matches last week, according to the NSCAA/adidas poll, released Sept. 11. In Soccer America's Poll, the Broncos are ranked 10th, falling only eight spots. Santa Clara is 1-2 vs. currently-ranked opponents this season, defeating No. 6 Connecticut last week and falling to Washington and No. 4 Notre Dame, also last week. The Broncos will play eight ranked opponents during the regular season, and are currently in the midst of a six-match stretch. No. 23 Maryland and No. 15 Virginia are this week, while No. 6 Stanford (Sept. 22) and No. 25 California (Sept. 24) will follow two weekends later. Also on the schedule is No. 14 Wake Forest (Oct. 1) and No. 13 USC (Oct. 18). In other polls, Santa Clara is seventh by Soccer Times and 17th by SoccerBuzz Magazine. Additionally, SoccerBuzz conducted a vote asking fans which team they thought would most likely win the 2000 NCAA Title. Although North Carolina received 27 percent of the vote, Santa Clara finished close behind, with 22 percent.
Bronco Olympians
Santa Clara women's soccer program has long been a training ground for international success, with three players on the Olympic Team that is at the Games in Sydney, Australia, will see. Junior defender Danielle Slaton was named the youngest member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team and is the only National Team member with college eligibility remaining. Assistant Coach Brandi Chastain, a 1999 World Cup gold medalist, will set aside her collegiate coaching duties in September to defend her country's 1996 Olympic gold medal. 1999 alumna Nikki Serlenga also made the squad while sophomore midfielder Aly Wagner was named an alternate. The United States opens Olympic competition on Thursday in Melbourne.
In the WCC
After spending the majority of the 1999 season ranked No. 1 in the nation, Santa Clara was selected by conference coaches as the favorite to win the West Coast Conference title for the third straight year. Receiving seven first-place votes, the Broncos garnerd 49 points from league coaches. Portland was picked second with 40 points, followed by Loyola Marymount, San Diego, Saint Mary's, Pepperdine, Gonzaga and San Francisco.
Hermann Trophy Finalists
Senior Heather Aldama, junior Danielle Slaton and sophomore Aly Wagner were named finalists for the 2000 Hermann Trophy, the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced in August. The Hermann Trophy, college soccer's equivalent to the Heisman Trophy, honors the outstanding male and female collegiate soccer players in the United States. Fifteen finalists were named. The winners of the 2000 Hermann Trophy will be announced Sat., Dec. 9, in conjunction with the men's College Cup in Charlotte, N.C. Santa Clara and defending NCAA champion North Carolina field three finalists each. Former player Mandy Clemens became the first Bronco to be honored with the Hermann, when she was announced as the 1999 winner. Clemens was only the second SCU player to capture the title of national player of the year. Current Santa Clara assistant coach Brandi Chastain earned postseason honors following the 1990 season as she was named the 1990 ISAA Player of the Year. The Hermann Trophy is named after Robert R. Hermann, founding Chairman of the North American Soccer League. It was first presented in 1967.
The Broncos at Buck Shaw Stadium
Santa Clara has posted a 118-17-7 record at 6,800-seat Buck Shaw Stadium over the last 11-plus seasons, including a 11-0-0 record in 1999. Over the last five-plus seasons, the Broncos are 68-6-7 (.883) at Buck Shaw Stadium.
Broncos Continue on WCC Winning Streak
Santa Clara will look to extended its school-record West Coast Conference winning streak to 18 when the league season begins Fri., Oct 6. The Broncos have not lost a league match since a 1-0 overtime loss to No. 3 Portland Oct. 31, 1997. During the Broncos current streak, the team has outscored the opposition 91-3 with 14 shutouts.
Two Broncos Honored As Preseason
All-Americans Junior defender Danielle Slaton and sophomore Aly Wagner earned preseason All-America honors according to Soccer Buzz Magazine.
Fresh Faces
Santa Clara's 2000 recruiting class was named the fourth best in the West Region by SoccerBuzz Magazine. Nationally, SoccerBuzz ranked the Broncos seventh.
Head Coach Jerry Smith * 14th Season * 206-53-14 Overall
Jerry Smith (CS Hayward '86) is in his 14th season as Santa Clara head coach, having compiled an overall record of 206-53-14 and coaching Santa Clara to 11 straight NCAA Tournament appearances. The winningest coach in the program's history, Smith is fifth on the all-time NCAA coaching victories list. The Broncos have been ranked among the nation's Top 25 every season during Smith's coaching tenure and have finished among the Top 10 in each of the last 11 campaigns. In 1990, Santa Clara finished the season ranked first in the nation. Additionally, he has coached 13 All-Americans, 11 U.S. National Team Players, eight Academic All-Americans and four WCC Freshmen of the Year. He coached 1999 National Player of the Year Mandy Clemens and has been awarded WCC Coach of the Year honors five times.