Sept. 7, 2004
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This Week
Santa Clara continues its season-opening seven-match road trip with a visit to Piscataway, N.J., this weekend, to participate in a tournament hosted by Rutgers. The Broncos will open against the host Scarlet Knights on Friday. Santa Clara will close the tournament on Sunday against Rhode Island.
Live on the Internet
Santa Clara's entire home schedule returns to the Internet, as a live audio broadcast is available for a third season on www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. Additionally, Buck Shaw contests can be followed online with a live statistical tracker, also located on SCU's official athletic website. By logging on, fans can receive real-time updated statistics direct from the official scoring computer, allowing users to listen to the audio broadcast and keep up with the statistics simultaneously. SCU men's soccer alumni Mark Wojciechowski and Ram Fletcher return as the voices of the Broncos.
Osborne on M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Watch List
Senior Leslie Osborne has been named to the "watch list" of players considered among the top candidates for the 2004 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, awarded to the top players in NCAA Division I soccer. The list was compiled by a committee of the NSCAA, the official selection body for the M.A.C.'s Hermann Trophy. Osborne, a native of Menomonee Falls, Wis., has already been named a preseason All-America by Soccer Buzz and Soccer America magazines.
A list of 15 semifinalists will be announced in November, with three finalists selected in early December. The winner will be announced at a dinner at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, Mo., on Jan. 8, 2005.
The award is college soccer's version of the Heisman Trophy. Past recipients include former Broncos Mandy Clemens and Aly Wagner. Clemens won both the Hermann Trophy and M.A.C. Player of the Year awards in 1999, while Wagner became the first honoree to have the distinction of receiving the newly-unified award.
In the Rankings
Santa Clara opened the 2004 season ranked in the top five in all four polls. This week, the Broncos remain in the top ten in three: Soccer Times lists the Broncos second, while Soccer America placed the Broncos seventh and Soccer Buzz ninth. The NSCAA/adidas poll dropped the squad to 12th. The Broncos have three of the top 11 teams on the schedule: No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 9 UCLA and No. 11 Portland.
CSTV to Televise Portland Match
College Sports Television, the first 24-hour college sports television network, will televise the Broncos' Sunday, October 24 match against Portland at Buck Shaw Stadium. The broadcast will be tape-delayed to Thursday, October 28 at 5 and 8:30 p.m. Joe Beninati will call all the action on CSTV Soccer, while Tom Stone will provide expert analysis.
College Sports TV, the fastest-growing independent cable network, is available to more than 20 million homes nationally on cable and satellite. The network is available on Comcast, Time Warner and Adelphia cable systems, among others, and is also available on DirecTV (channel 610). For information on CSTV availability in particular markets, consumers can log on to www.collegesports.com/getcstv or call their cable or satellite operator.
Broncos Share Top Spot in WCC Preseason Poll
Santa Clara was selected as the favorite to win the WCC crown in the 2004 preseason poll, as selected by the league coaches. The Broncos, who have captured three straight league titles and seven overall, received six first-place votes in the poll. Portland collected the other two first-place votes, while Pepperdine, the only school other than Santa Clara and Portland to win the WCC title, was selected third. Rounding out this year's poll is San Diego, Saint Mary's, Loyola Marymount, Gonzaga and San Francisco.
Osborne Joins 100-Point Club
Senior Leslie Osborne is steadily climbing both the Santa Clara and West Coast Conference recordbooks. The midfielder from Menomonee Falls, Wis., closed last season in fine fashion, and became only the eighth Bronco--and 14th WCC player--to notch 100 points with her first-half score against Portland during the regular season. With her first goal of this season at Cal Poly, she is seventh in goals (38) and points (110), while ninth in assists (34), in SCU record books. In the league listings, Osborne is ninth in career points, tied for 10th in career assists (with former Bronco Danielle Slaton) and 12th in goals.
A Look Ahead: Tournament Time
Santa Clara will close its seven-match season-opening road trip with a return home to the West Coast. Although back in the Bay Area, Santa Clara will play at Stanford's tournament in Palo Alto, taking on Yale and Cal State Fullerton.
Season/Match Tickets on Sale
Season and individual match tickets for Santa Clara University's nationally-recognized soccer teams are on sale through the Department of Athletics' official website www.SantaClaraBroncos.com, and the athletic ticket office at 408-554-4660, between the hours of 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
In conjunction with its exclusive Internet partner, College Sports Online, the athletic department has developed an online ticket application that provides fans with the ability to purchase season tickets, family plans, individual matches or an all-sports pass via the official athletic website. A men's and women's soccer season ticket package that includes the 17 home matches is available for the adult price of $65 each, while a family plan provides a family of five admission to each game for the low price of $100. Youth (12 and under) and senior (over 65-years-old) season tickets are also available for $30. Single games are priced at $7 for adults, $5 for youths and seniors and $2 for non-Ruff Riders SCU students as well as members of Bronco Kidz. Single match team passes are also available for $35.