Oct. 31, 2000
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This Week Santa Clara (11-6-1) begins the week by welcoming San Jose State to Buck Shaw Stadium for a non-conference Halloween match to close out the home schedule. The Broncos then hit the road for their final WCC match against 21st-ranked San Diego on Sunday morning.
NCAA Tournament The bracket for the 2000 Division I Women's Soccer Championship will be announced live at 7 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 5. The Tournament will consist of 48 teams. Early rounds will be played on the campus of one of the participating institutions. San Jose State University will host the Women's College Cup on Dec. 1 and 3.
The Opponents San Jose State closes out its regular season tonight against the Broncos and is 7-11-1 overall, 2-3-1 in the Western Athletic Conference. They are led by senior Jackie Ostdiek, who became the all-time SJSU career leader in games played, with her 80th appearance last week. Santa Clara has won all four previous contests against the Spartans, with the Broncos winning 4-0 against SJSU last season. First year head coach Tammie Grimes is a 1990 alumna of Santa Clara. At 13-5-0, San Diego returned the NSCAA rankings this week and is at No. 21. The Toreros are 5-1-0 in West Coast Conference play. The team has won its last four matches and is led by Stephanie Barnier's 14 goals. Santa Clara leads the all-time series 6-2-0, last winning by a 5-1 score in 1999.
The Seniors The six seniors on this year's squad will play their final regular season match at Buck Shaw Stadium tonight against San Jose State. They are: forward/defender Heather Aldama, forwards Kathleen Celio and Megan Horvath, goalkeeper Crystal Gordon, and midfielders Rachel Weber and Ruby Vigil.
San Jose State Match will be Available Live via Internet Broadcast Tonight's contest against San Jose State will be broadcast live online at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com.
Finishing Strong The 1-0 loss to Loyola Marymount on Sunday marked the first time in seven years that the Broncos lost one of its final three games of the regular season. In 1993, Santa Clara fell to Stanford 2-0 in the penultimate match of the regular season.
The Broncos at Buck Shaw Stadium Santa Clara has posted a 122-18-7 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 72-7-7 (.878) at Buck Shaw Stadium.
Pilots End Broncos' WCC Winning Streak The loss to Portland on Oct. 14 ended Santa Clara's school-record 19-win West Coast Conference streak. The Broncos had not lost a league match since a 1-0 overtime loss to No. 3 Portland Oct. 31, 1997. During the Bronco streak, the team outscored the opposition 99-4 with 15 shutouts.
In the Rankings After the loss to Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara fell out of the rankings in this week's NSCAA/adidas Poll for the first time this season. The Broncos began the season ranked second in the preseason, but losses to Washington and Notre Dame dropped SCU 17 spots where the team stayed for two straight weeks before moving up to 15th and then to 11th for two weeks. The No. 22 ranking marks the first time since 1987 that the Broncos have been out of the top 10. The Broncos have also fell out of Soccer America's Poll this week. In other polls, Santa Clara is 20th by Soccer Times and 22nd 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.
Santa Clara is 5-4-1 vs. currently-ranked opponents this season, defeating No. 6 Connecticut, No. 23 Maryland, No. 5 Stanford, No. 17 Wake Forest and No. 13 USC, and falling to Washington, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 15 Virginia and No. 17 Portland. The tie was against No. 11 California. Santa Clara will face its final ranked opponent of the season this Sunday against San Diego, who is currently ranked 21st.
In the WCC Although Santa Clara was selected by conference coaches as the favorite to win the West Coast Conference title for the fourth straight year, the Broncos are currently in fifth place with a 3-3-0 league mark. San Diego, selected to finish fourth, and Saint Mary's, picked fifth in the preseason poll, are currently tied for first place with matching 5-1-0 conference marks.
Assisting Others to Lead the WCC Santa Clara's unselfishness with the ball is seen in WCC statistics, as the Broncos ranked 1-2-3 in the conference in assists, as of Oct. 9. Heather Aldama has seven, while Aly Wagner and Veronica Zepeda have six each. Megan Horvath, Kathleen Celio and Kristi Candau also make the list, all tied for 10th with four assists each on the season. Zepeda is also third in points per game (1.60) and game winners (3). Kathleen Celio is fourth in points per game (1.54) and tied for second in points (20). Wagner is also fifth in two categories, shots (33) and shots per game (3.00). As a team, Santa Clara leads the league in points (117), goals (39), assists (39), assists per game (3.00) and yellow cards issued (14). The Broncos are second in shots (214) and goals per game (3.00).
Bronco Olympic Silver Medalists On Oct. 1, 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 Olympic squad while sophomore midfielder Aly Wagner was named an alternate.
Last Week
Broncos Top USF in Overtime, Fall to Loyola Marymount
Freshman Kristi Candau scored the game-winning goal in the 112th minute of sudden-victory overtime to lead Santa Clara to a 3-2 victory over San Francisco in continuing WCC action Oct. 27 at Negoesco Stadium. Sophomore Devvyn Hawkins struck first for the Broncos, receiving a cross from Kerry Cathcart on the left side and beating the goalkeeper less than five minutes into the contest. Senior Kathleen Celio followed five minutes later, taking advantage of a rebound to make a high volley into the net. USF's Meghan Daly countered in the 36th minute before both teams left the field at halftime. The lone goal in the second half of play was scored by USF's Rebecca Shook on a breakaway.
Two days later, SCU dropped a tight 1-0 decision to Loyola Marymount in front of 722 fans at a soggy Buck Shaw Stadium. The two teams battled to a scoreless tie throughout the first half before LMU's Erica Florez connected on a header into the middle of the goal at the 63:45 mark of the match. The goal proved to be the game winner for the Lions, who snapped a six-match losing streak to Santa Clara dating back to 1995. The win was also the first-ever for LMU at Buck Shaw Stadium. Santa Clara outshot LMU by a 13-5 margin in the match, including a 6-2 margin in the second half. The Broncos narrowly missed three-straight chances at tying the match within less than a minute with just over 10:00 left on the clock. Shots by Hawkins and Celio were saved by LMU goalkeeper Tracy Sharp, while a shot by Veronica Zepeda sailed just high of the crossbar.
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 for the Bronco Defense Santa Clara's defense has already given up twice as many goals as it did in the last two seasons combined. In 1999 the Broncos only gave up 10 goals, and the 1998 squad yielded only four, yet this season, the Broncos have ceded 29.
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.
WCC Player of the Month Kathleen Celio was named the WCC's Player of the Month for September. The senior forward scored her first career hat trick as the Broncos swept Oregon 6-0 at Buck Shaw Stadium to open the Bronco's 2000 home schedule. She leads the team with eight goals and four assists, for 20 points, ranking first in the WCC. Celio had a knack for scoring against ranked opponents last month, earning at least two points against Connecticut, Notre Dame, Maryland and Stanford, when Santa Clara went 3-1 in those matches.
WCC Players of the Week Kristi Candau came off the bench and scored two goals against Weber State and one against Wake Forest during the Santa Clara adidas Classic and was named the Classic's Most Outstanding Offensive Player. For her efforts, the freshman forward earned WCC Player of the Week honors for Oct. 3. The following week, senior forward Heather Aldama netted a goal and an assist in each of the Broncos' WCC victories against Gonzaga and Pepperdine to earn Player of the Week honors for Oct. 10.
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 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.
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.
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.
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. Since then, the Broncos have also been shut out by Portland and LMU this season.
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. A 32-match home win streak and a 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.
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 Now in his 14th season as head coach, Jerry Smith (CS Hayward '86) has compiled an overall record of 211-56-15 (.775) 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 victory 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.