SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University's women's soccer team will enter the 2010 season ranked ninth in the nation according to the preseason poll released by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) on Tuesday.
The Broncos finished the 2009 season ranked tenth in the country and advanced to the third round of the NCAA College Cup Tournament. SCU returns 17 letterwinners and seven starters this season. They will be led by Head Coach Jerry Smith, who has guided the Broncos to ten College Cup Final Fours in his 24 years of coaching on the Mission Campus. Team leaders Allie Vernon, Kendra Perry, Bianca Henninger and Lindsey Johnson have been selected as captains.
The West Coast Conference had two teams ranked in the top ten, with the University of Portland being the other representative at No. 5. The Broncos will face the Pilots at Buck Shaw Stadium on Sunday, October 24. Santa Clara will also play five other nationally ranked teams in 2010, including: California, Notre Dame, UCLA, Stanford and BYU.
The Broncos kick off the 2010 season on Friday, August 20, against San Diego State at 7 p.m. on their home field at Buck Shaw Stadium. For tickets or more information call 408-554-4660.
2010 NSCAA Preseason Poll
1. North Carolina
2. Stanford*
3. UCLA*
4. Notre Dame*
5. Portland*
6. Florida State
7. Boston College
8. Texas A&M
9. Santa Clara
10. Wake Forest
11. Florida
12. South Carolina
13. Penn State
14. California*
15. Virginia Tech
16. Maryland
17. Virginia
18. Rutgers
19. USC
20. Wisconsin
21. Washington State
22. BYU*
22. Oklahoma State
24. West Virginia
25. Central Florida
* denotes Santa Clara opponents
