SANTA CLARA, Calif. – In the final weekend of the season and the West Coast Conference title within reach, No. 18 Santa Clara women's soccer will host Portland on Thur., Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. on Senior Night. They will then travel to Saint Mary's to wrap-up the regular season on Sun., Nov. 3 at 12 p.m.
Last weekend the Broncos, now No. 7 in the RPI, went to San Francisco and tied the Dons 2-2 before coming home to Buck Shaw and taking down defending WCC champion San Diego 3-2 on a late goal.
"We still have a chance to win our conference championship or finish very high," said Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith. "Our goal is first or second place. We don't control our destiny but we would like to be one of the 16 NCAA seeded teams in the tournament. We're going to have to finish these last two games well and control what we can control. Portland is having a very good year and Saint Mary's on the road is always a tough game for us because of the rivalry between the schools. We're looking forward to celebrating our seniors in their last regular season home game this Thursday night and I know it will be an emotional night for them and their families. Hopefully they will play well and so will the rest of the team and we can remember senior night with a big win over a tough team."
Santa Clara continues to dominate opponents in shots attempted, leading 318-193 and 137-95 in shots on goal. The numerous attempts have helped the Broncos to outscore their opponents 30-21.
Julie Johnston leads the team with six goals scored and is tied for second with three assists. Her 15 points is also tops on the roster. Sofia Huerta is right behind Johnston with five goals and Lauren Matheson has a career-high four goals. Huerta also leads the team with four assists and is second on the team with 14 points. Sarah Jackson is tied with Johnston for second on the team with three assists while Paige Robertson and Meleana Shim each have scored twice. In goal, freshman Andi Tostanoski has racked up 62 saves and seven shutouts.
Portland enters the game with an overall record of 10-4-3 and 4-1-1 in conference play. It has outscored opponents 34-16. The Pilots took down No. 4 North Carolina 1-0 to open the season and have beaten No. 22 La Salle 3-0 and No. 18 Pepperdine 3-1. Portland tied No. 21 Notre Dame 1-1 and fell to No. 10 San Diego State 3-2 and No. 5 BYU 2-1. Last weekend the Pilots beat LMU 2-0 at home.
Amanda Frisbie has been the offensive leader for Portland in 2012 with 11 goals and six assists, both tops on the team. Her 28 points is also tops in the WCC. Kaila Cameli has found the back of the net eight times while Micaela Capelle is third on the team with four goals. Michelle Cruz's five assists are second for Portland and Ellen Parker is third with four. Goalkeeper Erin Deeis and a 1.08 GAA and a .784 save percentage. She has collected 58 saves and four shutouts.
Saint Mary's enters the week with a 6-10-2 record with a 1-5 mark in WCC play. Last weekend the Gaels fell 5-0 at No. 5 BYU. The lone conference with for Saint Mary's was a 3-2 win in double overtime at Gonzaga. The Gaels also took down Cal Poly 1-0 in overtime in San Luis Obispo. As a team Saint Mary's has been outscored 32-18.
Vicki Shimkus and Melinda Madden are tied with a team-high four goals scored while Christina Tognetti has found the net three times. Katy Roby is the team-leader in assists with five helpers. Khayla Jones has started 13 games in goal for the Gaels and has 74 saves to go with three shutouts.