Oct. 11, 2001
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University's soccer programs will both begin their respective West Coast Conference seasons on Friday night at Buck Shaw Stadium as part of the Third Annual Don Francisco Duel. The women's game against San Francisco will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the men's game against San Diego slated for an 8:00 p.m. kickoff.
The fourth-ranked women's team enters the league opener with a 9-1-0 overall record, and winners of the last five games by a combined score of 18-5. Head coach Jerry Smith will be looking for career win No. 49 in the WCC on Friday night against the University of San Francisco. The Broncos have defeated the Dons all 17 times that the two programs have met, including last year's 3-2 double-overtime win in San Francisco.
Junior Aly Wagner leads the WCC in points (27), goals (9) and assists (9), and has moved into the 19th place all-time in the WCC for career points, having scored 73 points in only 49 games. Sophomore Veronica Zepeda and freshmen Taline Tahmassian and Leslie Osborne each have scored five goals for the Broncos, placing them second on the team.
The men's team will play the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday night when they take on defending WCC Champion, the University of San Diego. The Broncos hold a 15-7-1 all-time advantage over the Toreros, but have dropped the last three games in the series by 1-0 scores in overtime.
The Broncos have six players who have scored one goal on the season, while sophomore Kellen Gilmore leads the team in assists with two. Senior Rusty Johnson has been his normal spectacular self, registering a 0.69 goals-against average on the season to go along with three shutouts.
Don Francisco Coffee Traders will be at Buck Shaw Stadium on Friday evening to make specialty coffee that will be free for all fans in attendance. Admission to the contests is $7 for adults, $5 for children and seniors, and $2 for Santa Clara students and Bronco Kidz members.