Women's Soccer Announces 2005 Schedule

Women's Soccer Announces 2005 Schedule

May 27, 2005

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University women's soccer head coach Jerry Smith recently announced the 2005 schedule, which includes matches against five teams that finished last season ranked in the top 25 in the NSCAA/adidas poll as well as 10 2004 NCAA Tournament participants.

The Broncos completed the 2004 season ranked No. 3 in the nation and advanced to the NCAA College Cup for the third time in four years. The Broncos will open the 2005 season at home, hosting Arizona State on Friday, August 26 at 7 p.m. Santa Clara will follow with a trip to North Carolina to face two NCAA tournament participants, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech, in a tournament hosted by the Demon Deacons. The Broncos will return home for a highly-anticipated three-game stretch which includes match-ups with both 2004 College Cup finalists. On September 9, the Broncos will face defending national champion Notre Dame in a rematch of last year's College Cup semifinal game, in which the Broncos fell 1-0. The following week, Santa Clara will host No. 11 UCLA, who fell to Notre Dame in overtime of the College Cup Final.

Santa Clara will also participate in the Stanford Nike Classic on September 30 and October 2. The Broncos will open the weekend against No. 25 Stanford for a rematch of the 2004 NCAA Second Round game, in which the Broncos captured a 1-0 overtime victory.

The West Coast Conference season begins October 9, when the Broncos travel to San Diego to face the No. 21 Toreros. The WCC competition looks to be strong again in 2005, as four of the eight conference schools advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year, three with top-25 national rankings.

On October 21, Santa Clara will travel to the Northwest to take on conference rival Portland, who finished last season ranked sixth in the nation and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight. The Broncos will close the 2005 home season with a match against Loyola Marymount and will conclude the regular season the following weekend against Pepperdine in Malibu.

The postseason begins the weekend of November 11-13 with first and second rounds held at campus sites. Third round and quarterfinal games will be held the two following weekends, November 18-20 and Novermber 25-27, also at campus sites. Texas A&M will host the 24th Annual College Cup in College Station, Texas December 2-4.

Smith enters his 19th season with the Bronco program with a 294-74-24 record, one of the best in NCAA history. He has led SCU to 16 straight NCAA Championship appearances, including 10 trips to the College Cup. His squad returns 17 letterwinners and seven starters from last year's team, which compiled an 18-5-2 record and advanced to the NCAA College Cup. The Broncos will be led by All-WCC First Team selections, Julie Ryder and Marian Dalmy, as well as senior Micaela Esquivel. Senior defender Jessica Ballweg, will also return to the Bronco lineup after a broken leg forced her to redshirt in 2004.

Please Click Here for the complete 2005 SCU Women's Soccer Schedule.