Sept. 23, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - At the 101st minute of a long, up and down game, senior Brittany Klein scored the lone goal of the match to give the Santa Clara women's soccer team a 1-0 triumph over Arizona Sunday afternoon. The goal was Klein's fourth of the season, while goalkeeper Meagan McCray earned her third shutout. With the win the Broncos improved to 6-0-1 overall, while the Wildcats dropped to 4-3-0.
"It was the best kind of free kick," said head coach Jerry Smith. "It fooled their goalkeeper into thinking she was going to save it, but Lexi Orand was there to send it back to Brittany."
Redshirt senior Tina Estrada took the free kick for the Broncos not far into the start of the second overtime. The ball curved its way into the box, but was deflected to the feet of Orand, who passed it back to Klein. Just at the end of the second half, Klein attempted another shot that Wildcats goalkeeper Danielle Nicolai barely tipped over the bar to send the game into overtime.
"It was a wide opened game," said Smith. "Both teams had great chances to score. We only had four substitutes going into today's game, so the athletes that played today really worked hard. Arizona had a lot of speed and set up some dangerous situations, but our players grinded it out. I have to credit Meagan, who made three or four really nice saves, which made a difference into the outcome of the game."
The Broncos remains on the road with a trip to San Luis Obispo, Calif., Friday night. Santa Clara will battle Cal Poly at 7 p.m., at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.