Women's Soccer to Host Cal Poly in NCAA First Round

Nov. 5, 2000

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara will host Cal Poly in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Women's Soccer Championships, marking the 12th straight NCAA postseason appearance for the Bronco program. The Broncos, who have reached the semifinals seven times, including the last four straight, will host the Mustangs at Buck Shaw Stadium on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m.

The Broncos (13-6-1) were not available to watch the selection show as a team, as they were in mid-flight from southern California after a 4-0 West Coast Conference victory over San Diego this afternoon.

Santa Clara was not one of the 16 teams that received first-round byes and will play a first-round match for the first time since 1997. The Broncos had received byes the past two years.

Big West Conference champions Cal Poly are 10-6-1 on the season and will be making their second straight appearance in the Div. I Championship. The Broncos opened the 2000 schedule at Cal Poly on Aug. 25, winning 2-1. In fact, Santa Clara has faced 12 of the 48 teams selected by the NCAA and went 7-4-1 in those matches, outscoring the opposition 23-18.

Of the 48 teams selected, 14 are from the West Coast. California, Santa Clara, Stanford and San Jose State were the four Bay Area teams selected. Additionally, West Coast Conference opponents Portland and San Diego were placed in the bottom half of the draw. Undefeated Notre Dame is the tournament's top seed, followed by Washington, Clemson, Nebraska, North Carolina, UCLA, Penn State and California.

The winner of the Santa Clara/Cal Poly match will travel to Berkeley to play California, the tournament's eighth seed. The second round match will take place on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. The third round will be played Nov. 17, 18 or 19, with the fourth round on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 24, 25 or 26. The semifinals and Championship matches will be contested at San Jose State University, Friday and Sunday, Dec. 1 and 3.