Sept. 27, 2000
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This Week The 15th-ranked Santa Clara women's soccer team (5-3-1) hosts the Santa Clara adidas Classic this weekend, with four matches at Buck Shaw Stadium. Visiting the campus are No. 13 Stanford, No. 17 Wake Forest and Weber State.
The Opponents Stanford is 6-2-0 on the season, and is currently ranked 13th, dropping eight spots after falling to Santa Clara last weekend in the adidas Bay Area Classic at San Jose State. The Cardinal does boast three wins over ranked opponents and its other loss is to top-ranked Notre Dame. The Cardinal is led by Marcia Wallis, who has scored at least one goal in the last straight six matches. Wake Forest is ranked 17th and enters the weekend with a 6-3 record. It's losses came to ranked opponents Missouri and California, as well as Iowa The Demon Deacons are led by junior Stacy Roeck and sophomore Lindsey Griffin, who each have scored five goals. Friday night will be the second time Wake Forest and Stanford have met. In 1997, the Deacons earned a 2-1 victory in Palo Alto. Wake Forest and Santa Clara will meet for the first time Sunday afternoon. Weber State enters the weekend looking for its first win of the season, at the Wildcats are currently 0-8-1. Freshman Natalie Hensley leads the team in scoring with six goals on the year. Weber State has never faced Stanford or Santa Clara in women's soccer.
Last Week
Broncos Place Second at adidas Bay Area Classic
Kathleen Celio scored two goals to lead Santa Clara in an upset over No. 5 Stanford 4-2 at the adidas Bay Area Classic, held at San Jose State's Spartan Stadium, Sept. 22 and 24.
On Sunday, Santa Clara concluded the tournament with a tie against No. 11 California, earning a second-place finish at a tournament for the second straight week.
Friday night's game saw Celio score at the 7:35 mark by following up on a shot from Veronica Zepeda. Twenty minutes later, Zepeda assisted on Aly Wagner's first goal on the season, when Wagner took a through ball to the right side of the net. Right before the end of the half, Zepeda scored the eventual game-winner, netting toward the back post after taking a low cross from Kristi Candau. It was Zepeda's third straight game-winner.
Four minutes into the second period, Celio scored again, heading the ball into the net off of Heather Aldama's free kick. It was Celio's team-leading eighth goal of the season.
After two overtimes in Sunday's match, Santa Clara tied an undefeated California 1-1. Devvyn Hawkins scored her first goal of the season 34 minutes into the match, taking a cross from Aldama. It was only the third goal the Bears have allowed all season. Seven yellow cards were issued during the match, six of which went to the Broncos, although California out-fouled Santa Clara 26-22. The Broncos saw many opportunities, outshooting the Bears 22-5, with a 10-1 shots-on-goal advantage.
Aldama was named the tournament's outstanding defensive player while Hawkins, Zepeda, Celio and Wagner were named to the All-Tournament Team.
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.
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, 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.
In the Rankings Santa Clara moved up four spots and is currently ranked 15th 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. 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 are 10th, improving nine spots. Santa Clara is 3-3-1 vs. currently-ranked opponents this season, defeating No. 6 Connecticut, No. 23 Maryland and Non. 5 Stanford and falling to Washington, No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 15 Virginia. The tie was against No. 11 California. The Broncos will play three more ranked opponents during the regular season, including No. 17 Wake Forest this weekend, No. 23 Portland on Oct. 14 and No. 19 USC four days later. In other polls, Santa Clara is 10th by Soccer Times and 21st 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 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.
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 Jerry Smith (CS Hayward '86) is in his 14th season as Santa Clara head coach, having compiled an overall record of 208-54-15 (.778) 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.