SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After falling behind in the first two minutes, Santa Clara women's soccer roared back to beat Iowa State by a final of 5-1. With their fourth win in a row the Broncos move to 4-2-0 and Iowa State is now 4-3-0.
Santa Clara returns to the field on Thurs. Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. vs. No. 14 Cal at Buck Shaw.
"We had a slow start to the game and came out flat," said Bronco head coach Jerry Smith. "You can't come out flat against anyone but credit to Iowa State for scoring a great goal and putting us on our heels. I thought we lacked some rhythm and commitment in the first half so we challenged the team at halftime. I thought we came out and played much better in the second half and was pleased with the team. They showed much more commitment. All-in-all I was pretty happy with our performance and we got to play everyone in the game today. It was a good, solid day for us."
Santa Clara outshot Iowa State 26-9 and 15-2 in shots on goal. Morgan Marlborough led the way on offense with a hat trick while Julie Johnston had a goal and two assists. Jordan Jesolva scored her first collegiate goal while Julie Vass and Allie Vernon each had an assist. Andi Tostanoski made one save.
"I felt like I was back to my old self out there today," said Marlborough. "I had very high expectations of myself and what I could bring to the team. The first few games I felt like I wasn't doing my job. I'm a forward, I'm supposed to score goals. I feel really good because I feel like I did my job. This gives me another boost forward and I feel like I'm a better player now than I used to be. Obviously without the good passes, though, I wouldn't have scored so a ton of credit goes to my teammates."
"Morgan is a goal scorer and proved it tonight," said Smith. "Goal scorers can be streaky and their teammates have to set them up. Today her teammates set her up well and she's a finisher. Hopefully this helps her gain some confidence in front of goal and sends a message to her teammates that if they just get her the ball in a scoring position, she'll be dangerous for us."
The Cyclones scored in the second minute to go up 1-0. Alyssa Williamson took a pass from Susie Potterveld and dribbled down the field to the top of the box. Williamson fired a shot that went over just over the leaping Tostanoski and snuck in under the cross bar.
Marlborough knotted the score at 1-1 with a goal in the 10th minute. Vernon sent a beautiful ball past the defense and Marlborough had no defenders between her and goalkeeper. She dribbled down the field and blasted a shot into the back of the net for her second goal of the season.
Johnston added to her team-lead in goals with her fourth in the 21st minute to give Santa Clara its first lead of the night. Vass sent a pass to the right side of the field and Johnston outran the defense to get a clear shot that she blasted past the goalkeeper.
Santa Clara out Iowa State 13-5 in the first half and 7-1 in shots on goal. Jesolva led the way for the offense with four shots while Johnston and Marlborough each had three shots and a goal.
Jesolva extended the Santa Clara lead in the 52nd minute with her first goal of the season. The ball bounced off a Cyclone defender and Jesolva volleyed the ball off one bounce right past the goalkeeper.
Marlborough added her second goal of the game in the 60th minute. With the ball right in front of the goal, Johnston tapped a pass to Marlborough who had an easy tap in in front of the net.
Less than two minutes later Marlborough completed the hat trick. Johnston, who picked up her second assist of the game, tapped a free kick to Marlborough outside the box and Marlborough fired her shot past the helpless goalkeeper.
Santa Clara and Iowa State continued to make substitutions and get bench players some minutes as the clock winded down to a 5-1 Santa Clara victory.
Game Notes: Attendance was 505 … A total of 46 players (SCU 25, ISU 21) were used in the match … Iowa State was given two yellow cards … Sarah Jackson was given a yellow card … The five goals was the most for Santa Clara since a 5-0 win vs. San Francisco in 2011 … It was the first Santa Clara hat trick since Sofia Huerta on Oct. 2, 2011 vs. San Diego State.
