Sept. 25, 2008
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - In a game where David met Goliath, the Santa Clara women's soccer team took on Goliath in the form of No. 2 UCLA, to a 0-0 double overtime draw. The Broncos played aggressively, adapted to all of the Bruins attacks and kept the second ranked team in the nation out of the box. Goal keeper Meagan McCray had a standout game posting four saves on the Southern California squad's 16 shots. Not only did McCray play in her second straight game that lasted 110 minutes, but also through serious injury.
At the beginning of the second half a Bruin attacker slammed her foot into McCray's nose stopping time for several minutes. Backup keeper Lisa Lahman began to warm up because McCray looked to have broken her nose and would not be able to stay in the game. Remarkably, the senior goalie not only stayed in the game, but led the defense to keep UCLA off the board for the rest of the half and two overtime periods.
Head coach Jerry Smith adjusted his lineup going into the game and played a four-three-three, which proved to match up well against a talented Bruin team, who is undefeated on the season. Rejoining the team at midfield was redshirt junior Courtney Lewis, who battled back from a knee injury that plagued her last season. Lewis, who had only been able to practice with the team for one day after being cleared to play at the beginning of the week, had an immediate impact. She had three shots, one of which was on goal.
Tri-captain Kiki Bosio also had strong performance and was able to move the ball around the field easily. She not only had several free kick opportunities that looked like they potentially could translate to a Bronco score, but also had eight shots, three of which were on goal.
Moving to defender was freshman Margueritte Aozasa, who played right back. She helped hold a strong SCU backline along side veterans Maxine Goynes, Dani Potts and Katherine Reynolds. Santa Clara worked seamlessly to connect with each other and to try to create chances to get their first win in three games. This is the third overtime game in a row for the Broncos and the second where they have gone through two extra time periods to scoreless draws.
Looking forward, Santa Clara will face another ranked Pac-10 opponent on Sunday, Sept. 28, when they travel to Berkeley, Calif. to take on the No. 23 Golden Bears of California.