No. 11 Women's Soccer Opens WCC Action at Home

Oct. 4, 2000

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This Week The quest begins for a fourth straight league title when the 11th-ranked Santa Clara women's soccer team (7-3-1) concludes a four-match homestand with WCC contests at Buck Shaw Stadium. Visiting the campus are league opponents Gonzaga and Pepperdine.

The Opponents Gonzaga is 3-7 on the season. With a loss to No. 9 Washington last week, the Zags have now lost 19 straight to ranked opponents. Gonzaga will host Eastern Washington this afternoon before heading to the Bay Area. The Zags' head coach, Shannon (Douglas) Stiles, played at Santa Clara from 1989-92. During her four years, she led SCU to three NCAA semifinal appearances. The All-WCC selection was a starting midfielder her junior and senior years. Santa Clara has defeated Gonzaga in the teams' previous seven meetings, allowing only one goal to the Bulldogs in 1994. The team is led by the WCC's Player of the Week Sara Streufert, a senior who scored her third career hat trick last week. Pepperdine is 9-1-1 on the season and hosts San Diego on Friday before arriving for Sunday's match. The Waves are in the midst of a school-record eight-match win streak. During the streak, Pepperdine has oustcored their opponents 22-3 and have posted six shutouts. The Broncos have defeated the Waves in each of the team's previous six meetings.

Broncos Continue on WCC Winning Streak Santa Clara will look to extend 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.

The Broncos at Buck Shaw Stadium Santa Clara has posted a 120-17-7 record at 6,800-seat Buck Shaw Stadium over the last 11-plus seasons, including an 11-0-0 record in 1999. Over the last five-plus seasons, the Broncos are 70-6-7 (.886) at Buck Shaw Stadium.

Bronco Olympic Silver Medalists Olympic silver medalists Danielle Slaton and Brandi Chastain--fresh from Sydney, Australia--landed at San Jose's International Airport around 2 p.m., which happened to be Santa Clara's kickoff time against Wake Forest. The two made it to the field just before halftime. Slaton, a junior defender, immediately began warming up and played the entire second half in the Bronco defense. She was the youngest member of the 2000 Olympic Team and was the only National Team member with college eligibility remaining. Chastain is an assistant coach for the Broncos and was a member of the 1996 Olympic gold-medal winning team.1999 alumna Nikki Serlenga also made the squad while sophomore midfielder Aly Wagner was named an alternate.

WCC Player of the Week Kristi Candau scored two goals against Weber State and one against Wake Forest during the Santa Clara adidas Classic this past weekend. The freshman forward came off the bench in both games and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Offensive Player for her efforts.

In the Rankings Santa Clara moved up four more spots again this week and is currently ranked 11th in the NSCAA/adidas Poll. After the season's first losses to Washington and Notre Dame, the Broncos fell 17 spots after beginning the season ranked second and stayed at No. 19 for two straight weeks before moving up to 15th last week. The ranking marks the first time since 1987 that the Broncos have been out of the top 10. In Soccer America's Poll, the Broncos remained 10th for the second straight week. Santa Clara is 4-3-1 vs. currently-ranked opponents this season, defeating No. 6 Connecticut, No. 23 Maryland, No. 5 Stanford and No. 17 Wake Forest, and falling to Washington, No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 15 Virginia. The tie was against No. 11 California. The Broncos will play two more ranked opponents during the regular season, including No. 18 Portland on Oct. 14 and No. 23 USC four days later. In other polls, Santa Clara is ninth by Soccer Times and 15th 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.

In the WCC After winning the league for the third time in 1999, 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 garnered 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.

Celio Leading the WCC Through Sept. 19, senior Kathleen Celio leads the West Coast Conference in four categories: points, points per game, goals and goals per game. She has scored six goals and two assists in seven matches played, for a 2 points-per-game- average and a 0.86 goals-per-game average. Freshman Veronica Zepeda, with her league-leading four game-winners, is tied for ninth for assists per game, averaging 0.33.

Last Week
Broncos Host, Win Santa Clara adidas Classic Freshman Kristi Candau scored Santa Clara's first goal of the afternoon and third of the tournament to lead the Broncos to the Santa Clara adidas Classic title and earning herself Offensive MVP honors.

The Broncos defeated No. 17 Wake Forest 4-1 on Oct. 1. The win marked Santa Clara's second come-from behind victory this season. Prior to this year, the Broncos hadn't been down in a match they won in four years.

The Demon Deacons scored first, with Emily Taggart finding the net just 13 minutes into the match. Each of Santa Clara's three freshmen then responded with goals in the first half. Candau scored her fourth goal of the season off a pass from Kerry Cathcart during the 36th minute. Four minutes later, Veronica Zepeda posted her fourth game-winner of the season. Freshman Chardonnay Poole celebrated her first goal of the season with a cartwheel at midfield after netting the ball just three minutes before the half. Senior Rachel Weber added her fourth goal of the season at during the 79th minute.

Joining Candau on the All-Tournament Team were Broncos Zepeda and Heather Aldama, as well as the Most Outstanding Goalkeeper of the tournament Crystal Gordon.

In the Broncos first match of the Classic, Senior Megan Horvath posted six points to lead the Broncos to a 6-1 win over Weber State. She opened up the scoring with two goals in the first half, after being set up by Kathleen Celio and Aly Wagner, respectively. After a score by Aldama, Horvath assisted on Cathcart's goal at the 49th minute. Candau entered the match in the second half and responded with two goals, assisted by Celio on the first and Aldama and Horvath on the second.

The six-goal tally tied the season high for goals scored in a match, as the Broncos also posted six in a shut out of Oregon earlier this month. Santa Clara posted 21 shots tonight, five each by Horvath and Wagner. The Wildcats were limited to five total shots. In the Classic's other matches, Stanford tied Wake Forest 2-2 and shut out Weber State 5-0.

Coming From Behind With the 4-1 win over Wake Forest on Oct. 1, Santa Clara earned its second come-from behind victory this season. On Sept. 10, the Broncos defeated Connecticut 2-1 in overtime for the program's first rally in the last 70 matches, dating back more than four years. 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.

A Needed Boost to the Bronco Defense Santa Clara's defense has already given up twice as many goals as it did all of last season. In 1999 the Broncos only gave up 10 goals, and only four of those came in the first 11 matches. This season, the Broncos have ceded 18 goals in its first 11 matches. Junior Danielle Slaton's return to defense should help to improve these numbers.

MAC Player of the Year Finalists Junior Danielle Slaton and sophomore Aly Wagner were named finalists for the 10th annual Missouri Athletic Club's Collegiate Player of the Year Award, the Missouri Athletic Club Sports Foundation announced Oct. 2. The award is the official National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas award for Division I players. 1999 alumna Mandy Clemens won the award last season. In addition to the selecting the 15 candidates for the award, coaches also identified five players to watch" during the season. Topping that list is Santa Clara's Veronica Zepeda. The Player of the Year will be selected by a vote of NSCAA member Division I coaches and will be honored at an awards banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club on Friday, Jan. 5, 2001, and at the NSCAA convention later in January in Indianapolis. Among the 15 candidates for the prestigious crystal soccer ball trophy are three players from Nebraska and the defending NCAA champion North Carolina. Repeat selections from the 1999 ballot are Anne Makinen of Notre Dame and Mary-Frances Monroe of Connecticut.

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.

Soccer America's Team of the Week Senior Heather Aldama and freshman Veronica Zepeda were named to Soccer America's Team of the Week for Sept. 27 Aldama earned the honor after being named the adidas Bay Area Classic's most outstanding defender, a tournament held this past weekend at San Jose State's Spartan Stadium. She earned two assists after setting up a goal each against No. 5 Stanford and No. 11 California. Zepeda scored one goal and three assists in the Bay Area Classic, earning All-Tournament Team honors and selection to Soccer America's Team of the Week. Her game-winner against Stanford was her third straight this season.

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.

All Tied Up The even score that Santa Clara posted against No. 11 California marked the first tie for the Broncos in the last 47 matches. Santa Clara last added a tie to the team's record in 1998, when a Sept. 27 match at Stanford ended with no score.

Rare Consecutive Losses Santa Clara's back-to-back losses to Washington and Notre Dame, Sept. 4 and 8, 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	Opponent Shots	Santa Clara Shots	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 Sept. 8 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.

Shut Out Santa Clara's 1-0 loss to Virginia was the team's first shut out of the season and first match with no Bronco goal on the board since the 1999 NCAA semifinal loss to Notre Dame.

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 loss--this 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 Sept. 1. Celio scored her first goal :39 seconds into the match, taking a cross from 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.

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 Jerry Smith (CS Hayward '86) is in his 14th season as Santa Clara head coach, having compiled an overall record of 210-54-15 (.780) 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.

SCU Faculty/Staff Family Day Santa Clara Athletics is hosting a Faculty/Staff Family Day this Sunday, Oct. 8. From 11 a.m. through 1 p.m., SCU employees and their families can enjoy a free tailgate at Alumni Park. Included is a lunch from Mondo Burrito and Jamba Juice, as well as a free gift and tickets to see the women's soccer team host WCC rival Pepperdine.