Sept. 8, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Kiki Bosio, Meagan Snell and Brittany Klein scored a pair of goals each to lead No. 3 Santa Clara women's soccer to a 7-1 upset of No. 2 Notre Dame Friday night in the second game of the 2007 Santa Clara adidas Classic at Buck Shaw Stadium. With the win, the Broncos improved to 2-0-0 on the season, while the Fighting Irish dropped to 2-1-0 overall.
Sophomore Courtney Lewis also added a goal for the Broncos. The seven goals scored by Santa Clara marked the most goals Notre Dame has allowed of its opponent since the 1989 season (the previous mark was six), as well as the Broncos grandest victory over the Irish since a 4-0 sweep in 2002.
"It has always been a good rivalry between Santa Clara and Notre Dame," said head coach Jerry Smith. "I have to give a lot of credit to the players. They really came together tonight. Before the game they told each other in order to have a great year they are going to have to be tough and they definitely played tough tonight. I'm really proud of them."
After taking a 3-1 halftime lead, SCU poured on four more goals in the second half to make a powerful statement to the rest of the country.
"Our backline was amazing tonight," said Smith. "The backline we have this year, is not what we expected it would be. Katherine [Reynolds], Anessa [Patton], Chioma [Igwe] and Lindsey [Johnson] are all playing new positions and they have really worked as a unified defensive unit to play against a very talented Notre Dame front line. To limit the star-studded front line that includes the 2006 National Player of the Year to just one goal is amazing."
Bosio netted the first goal for the Broncos just under the 16 minute mark. She sent the ball in from the sidelines in her usual flip fashion, to find it brush off the hands of Notre Dame goalkeeper Lauren Karas and hit the crossbar to send it into the goal. Not too long afterwards, Lewis stepped up to the box, receiving a cross from Bosio and sending the ball to the back of the net. SCU found itself in a bit of trouble in the box at the 23 minute mark, giving Notre Dame's Michelle Weissenhofer a penalty kick, which she sent right past junior Meagan McCray. McCray tallied seven saves on the night. Bosio found herself in a similar situation with 10 minutes remaining in the first period. Once again she threw the ball in, finding Lexi Orand's feet just left of the goal. Orand cross the ball to senior Snell who netted her first goal of the season.
Snell struck again in the beginning of the second half, putting the Broncos up by three, 4-1, with a left-footed shot into the upper corner. The Broncos leading scorer in 2006 took a pass from Klein on the right wing and ripped a shot to the far post upper corner for her second goal of the game.
The night wasn't over yet for the Broncos though as SCU continued to put pressure on Notre Dame. Klein netted back-to-back unassisted goals to give Santa Clara a 6-1 lead. Both shots were deflected by goalkeeper Kelsey Lysander right to the feet of Klein. Just as she opened the night for the Broncos, Bosio took a pass from freshman Patton to score the game-winning goal at the 79th minute.
Santa Clara takes on Virginia on Sunday, Sept. 9 at 1:30 p.m., PT in the finale of the Santa Clara adidas Classic. Prior to the Broncos game on Sunday, Stanford plays Notre Dame at 11 a.m., PT. Both games will be played at Buck Shaw Stadium.