Aug. 29, 2000
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This Week The third-ranked Santa Clara women's soccer team (1-0-0), opens the 2000 home season against Pac-10 opponents Oregon and Washington. The Broncos will host the Ducks this Friday at 3 p.m. at Buck Shaw Stadium, while the Huskies visit Santa Clara's campus on Labor Day, Mon., Sept. 7, at 7:30 p.m. Santa Clara is looking to keep alive a 31-match home win streak.
School-Record 31-Match Home Winning Streak Santa Clara is in the midst of a school-record 31-match home winning streak, dating back to the end of the 1997 season. The streak eclipses the old school mark established from 1989 to 1991 when the Broncos won 20 straight contests in Buck Shaw Stadium.
In the Rankings Santa Clara enters the season ranked third by the NSCAA/adidas preseason poll. The Broncos will play seven ranked opponents during the regular season, including a five game stretch against No. 2 Notre Dame (Sept. 8), No. 9 Connecticut (Sept. 10), No. 23 Maryland (Sept. 15), No. 16 Virginia (Sept. 17) and No. 7 Stanford (Sept. 22). Also on the schedule is No. 12 Wake Forest (Oct. 1), and a regular season finale at No. 24 San Diego (Nov. 5). In other polls, Santa Clara was picked tied for second by Soccer Times and fifth by Soccer Buzz Magazine. Additionally, Soccer Buzz 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, as fans tuning into next month's Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, will see. Junior defender Danielle Slaton will miss the first month of the season as she was named the youngest member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team. She is also 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.
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 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.
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 Opponents Oregon defeated San Jose State 5-3 and Idaho 4-1 last weekend and are 2-0-0 on the season. The Ducks face San Diego on Thursday before taking on Santa Clara for the first time in both program's histories. Oregon graduated 13 seniors from last year's squad and welcome eight newcomers to the roster. Washington defeated Eastern Washington 8-0 in its season opener and are 2-0-0 in 2000, adding an upset over No. 20 BYU on Wednesday. The Huskies will face San Francisco on Friday before taking on the Broncos on Labor Day. Washington returns eight starters from 1999, including the top three scorers and two goalkeepers. Santa Clara holds a 6-1-1 edge over Washington in the all-time series with the Broncos winning the last five contests.
Last Week Santa Clara won its 13th straight season opener with a 2-1 victory over Cal Poly Aug. 25 in San Luis Obispo. Freshman forward Kristi Candau scored her first collegiate goal at the 60-minute mark for the game-winner. An assist was earned by senior forward Megan Horvath. The Broncos' first goal of the night was netted at the 52:32 mark when senior midfielder Rachel Weber scored, assisted by freshman defender Chardonnay Poole of Claremont. Cal Poly countered less than two minutes later, at the 54:08 mark, as Mustang Sandy Oceguera's shot tied the game. Santa Clara posted 16 shots on goal, while Cal Poly recorded five.
The Broncos at Buck Shaw Stadium Santa Clara has posted a 117-16-7 record at 6,800-seat Buck Shaw Stadium over the last 11 seasons, including a 11-0-0 record in the facility in 1999. Over the last five seasons, the Broncos are 67-5-7 (.889) at Buck Shaw Stadium.
Broncos Riding 44-Match Regular Season Unbeaten Streak With its victory over Cal Poly on Aug. 25, the Broncos extended their school-record regular season unbeaten streak to 44 consecutive games. The last time Santa Clara suffered a regular season loss was Oct. 29, 1997, to WCC foe Portland, 1-0 in overtime.
Broncos Also 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 Soccer Buzz Magazine. Nationally, Soccer Buzz ranked the Broncos seventh.
Head Coach Jerry Smith - 14th Season - 203-51-14 Overall Jerry Smith (CS Hayward '86) is in his 14th season as Santa Clara head coach, having compiled an overall record of 203-51-14 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.