Sept. 5, 2000
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This Week The second-ranked Santa Clara women's soccer team (2-1-0) begins a six-match stretch against opponents ranked in the top-25 when it travels to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Tournament. The Broncos will take on host Notre Dame, ranked fourth, on Fri., Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. CST. They will also compete against No. 6 Connecticut Sun., Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. to round out tournament play.
The Opponents Santa Clara is 2-2-0 in its all-time series with Notre Dame. Although the Broncos defeated the Irish 4-2 during the 1999 regular season, Notre Dame ended Santa Clara's season with a 1-0 win in the 1999 NCAA Semifinals in San Jose. Against Connecticut, Santa Clara's program is 5-2-0 all-time against the Huskies, winning the last five contests, including a 3-0 win at Buck Shaw last season.
Last Week
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 ended. 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."
The Huskies' Megan McKinstry put the visitors on the scoreboard by escaping from a scramble with a 7-yard straight shot that found the back of the net. Teammate Caroline Putz scored the game-winner at the 63:08 mark. Santa Clara senior midfielder Rachel Weber scored her second goal of the season, putting the Broncos on the scoreboard during the 87th minute.
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. 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 on an assist to Kerry Cathcart's goal with :25 seconds remaining in the match. Also scoring goals for Santa Clara were senior defender Heather Aldama and freshman forward Veronica Zepeda in the first half and Cathcart in the second. Santa Clara posted 21 shots on goal, while Oregon recorded six.
Huskies End 45-Match Regular Season Unbeaten Streak With its loss to Washington on Sept. 4, the Broncos ended their school-record regular season unbeaten streak at 45 consecutive games. The last time Santa Clara suffered a regular season loss was Oct. 31, 1997, to WCC foe Portland, 1-0 in overtime.
School-Record 32-Match Home Winning Streak Ends as Well Santa Clara is also closed out a school-record 32-match home winning streak with Monday's loss to Washington. It was a streak dating back to the end of the 1997 season. The streak eclipsed 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 week ranked second by the NSCAA/adidas poll, released Sept. 4. The Broncos will play eight ranked opponents during the regular season, including a six-match stretch against No. 4 Notre Dame (Sept. 8), No. 6 Connecticut (Sept. 10), No. 9 Maryland (Sept. 15), No. 18 Virginia (Sept. 17), No. 10 Stanford (Sept. 22) and No. 25 California (Sept. 24). Also on the schedule is No. 14 Wake Forest (Oct. 1), No. 15 USC (Oct. 18) and a regular season finale at San Diego (Nov. 5), who was ranked 24th in the preseason poll. 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 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 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 - 205-52-14 Overall Jerry Smith (CS Hayward '86) is in his 14th season as Santa Clara head coach, having compiled an overall record of 205-52-14 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.