The No. 11 Santa Clara women's soccer team will host its annual Santa Clara Classic this weekend, welcoming No. 2 Stanford, No. 15 Georgetown, and Utah.  The Broncos will take on the Hoyas Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and the Utes Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.

Santa Clara was bumped out of the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com Top-10 this week by upcoming BYU, who is set to be a WCC opponent for the Broncos in 2011.  A win over newly-anointed women's soccer power Georgetown on Friday would be key in boosting Santa Clara back into the top-10.  The Hoyas are currently the NCAA's top-ranked scoring offense, having scored 32 goals in seven games while only giving up two and recording six shutouts.

Georgetown's 7-0 start qualifies as the best in program history.  Junior midfielder Ingrid Wells, a MAC Hermann Trophy candidate, leads the team with five goals and six assists.  The Hoyas have yet to face a top-25 this season, and this weekend will be a proving ground for them having to go up against two of the best teams in the country.  Last season was the first-ever meeting between the Broncos and Georgetown, a game which Santa Clara won, 2-1, in overtime.

Sunday's match against Utah will feature a familiar face to the Mission Campus, as Utes head coach Rich Manning, a former Bronco men's player ('86) and women's assistant coach (1998-2001) who helped guide Santa Clara to their 2001 NCAA title, will make his return.  Since making the jump to a head coaching position after leaving SCU, Manning has taken Utah to the NCAA tournament five times in his 10 seasons there.

The Utes have had a rough start to the season with a 1-7 overall record.  Utah has had four different goalscorers with one goal each.  The Broncos have played the Utes twice in the past.  Each team has a 1-0 win against the other.  Most recently, Utah was the victor, winning at home over Santa Clara last season.

This weekend's tournament will be very much a California affair.  Aside from featuring two of the most prominent Bay Area women's college soccer teams, Georgetown has two players from the Bay Area, one hailing from the Peninsula (reserve sophomore defender Claire Fuselier, La Honda) and another from the South Bay (starting senior  goalkeeper Jackie DesJardin, Sunnyvale) and Utah has a player from Santa Cruz (starting freshman midfielder Leslie Muirhead).  The two out-of-state teams also feature a combined total of 11 players native to California.

GAME SCHEDULE:

Friday
5:00 p.m. PT — No. 2 Stanford (visitor) vs. Utah (home)
7:30 p.m. PT — No. 15 Georgetown (visitor) vs. No. 11 Santa Clara (home)

Sunday
11 a.m. PT — No. 15 Georgetown (visitor) vs. No. 2 Stanford (home)
1:30 p.m. PT — Utah (visitor) vs. No. 11 Santa Clara (home)

LIVE COVERAGE: Live stats will be available for all four games via Presto Sports's PrimeTime.  The links for live stats can be found by clicking http://livestats.prestosports.com/santaclara/.  Video webcasts will be also available for each game Santa Clara is participating in.

NOTES:
**Georgetown has six Californian players on their roster, including two local to the Bay Area
**Utah head coach Rich Manning is a Santa Clara graduate ('86) and former men's soccer player and was an assistant with the Bronco women's soccer team from 1998-2001.  In 2001, he helped Santa Clara capture their NCAA title
**Jerry Smith is in his 24th season as SCU head coach (360-110-38)
**Senior Anessa Patton currently leads the team in scoring with three goals.  The team has had six different goal scorers this season
**Goalkeeper Bianca Henninger (2 shutouts, 0.67 GAA) is a candidate for the 2010 MAC Hermann Trophy
**The Broncos have played or are scheduled to play eight teams currently ranked in the NSCAA Top 25
**SCU returned six players named to the WCC's 2009 all-conference teams
**Allie Vernon, Kendra Perry, Lindsey Johnson and Bianca Henninger have been named team co-captains
**Henninger and Vernon were named to the 2010 WCC Preseason All-Conference team
**Bronco greats Brandi Chastain and Aly Wagner have been added to the coaching staff for 2010

FANTASTIC FRESHMEN:  Five of Santa Clara's nine goals this season have been a direct result of the contribution from this year's rookies.  Julie Johnston has one goal and three assists, while Sarah Jackson scored the game-tying goal against San Jose State.

INSIDE THE TOP 10: Santa Clara entered the 2010 season ranked ninth in the nation according to the preseason poll released by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).  This week the Broncos were edged out of the top-10 by future WCC conference opponent BYU.

2010 NSCAA TOP 10 (SEPT. 7, 2010)
1. North Carolina
2. Stanford*
3. Portland*
4. Boston College
5. Florida
6. Texas A&M
7. Notre Dame*
8. Maryland
9. Virginia
10. BYU*
*Santa Clara opponents in 2010

SCU HEAD COACH JERRY SMITH: SCU Head Coach Jerry Smith enters his 24th season at the helm of the Santa Clara women's soccer program in 2010. Although he is most known for the development of his players and teams, Smith also produces success and is the winningest women's soccer coach in Santa Clara history, having compiled a record of 360-110-38 (.746) – in fact Smith ranks among the top-5 winningest coaches in NCAA Division I history. Since taking over the head coaching duties at Santa Clara in the spring of 1987, Smith has built the Bronco soccer program into a national power. For 19 consecutive seasons, his Broncos reached the NCAA Tournament prior to 2008 and have consistently ranked among the top 10 teams in the country. He has taken the Broncos to 10 College Cup Final Fours and a national championship in 2001. In addition, his Bronco teams have won nine West Coast Conference titles.

HENNINGER ADDED TO MAC HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST: Santa Clara University junior goalkeeper Bianca Henninger has been named to the 2010 Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Women's Hermann Trophy Watch List, as announced by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Henninger is one of just five goalkeepers among the 45 players selected for the award's preseason watch list. The honor is considered the highest individual award in intercollegiate soccer. The recipients are selected by NCAA Division I coaches who are members of the NSCAA.

QUOTABLE: "It is going to take a lot of hard work, dedication, and trust in each other and the coaches," said Anessa Patton about what it will take to be successful in 2010. "We are capable of it though … we have to make sure that we are all on the same page. That means that our veterans and returners are going to have to reach out, that much more, to welcome the 12 freshmen that we have coming in."

30th ANNIVERSARY DINNER AND PROGRAM: Join current players, coaches, and alumni for this special anniversary of the SCU Women's Soccer program. Friday, October 08, 2010 at 7:00 PM. CLICK HERE to register.

2010 WCC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. #4 Portland - 49 (7)
2. #8 Santa Clara - 41.5 (1)
3. #14 San Diego - 38.5
4. Pepperdine – 27
5. Loyola Marymount – 26
6. Saint Mary's – 19
7. Gonzaga – 12
8. San Francisco - 11
(First place votes - rankings by NSCAA)

2010 WCC PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
Kendra Chandhoke, Portland
Danielle Foxhoven, Portland
Julie Gallaudet, Loyola Marymount
Bianca Henniger, Santa Clara
Sheridan Jones, Gonzaga
Stephanie Ochs, San Diego
Sophie Schmidt, Portland
Michelle Spacciapolli, Pepperdine
Allie Vernon, Santa Clara
Keelin Winters, Portland
Jackie Zinke, San Diego

BRONCOS ADVANCE INTO NCAA'S THIRD ROUND: After an early-season 2-0 win vs. No. 5 Notre Dame, the Bronco women, who finished the 2009 season ranked No. 10, were awarded for their fantastic play by once again playing in the NCAA College Cup tournament. They beat Michigan State and Oklahoma State at home in the first two rounds. Both games ended in penalty kicks. They ended their season with a battle at No. 1 Stanford, losing 1-0 to the eventual national runner-ups.

FIVE BRONCOS TAKEN IN 2010 WPS DRAFT: Five SCU women's soccer players (four from the Broncos' 2009 roster) were selected in the 2010 Women's Professional Soccer league (WPS) Draft. Jordan Angeli (Boston Breakers – 16th overall), Kiki Bosio (Los Angeles Sol – 22nd overall), Amanda Poach (St. Louis Athletica – 28th overall), Katherine Reynolds (Boston Breakers - #34 overall) and Meagan Snell (Sky Blue FC – 44th overall).