Check out photos from the match! (Credit Denis Concordel)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Playing its final non-conference game of the 2013 regular season, No. 20 Santa Clara women's soccer topped Cal Poly 4-0. The win puts the Broncos final non-conference record at 6-3-1 while the Mustangs are now 4-6-0. The win was head coach Jerry Smith's 400th career win as a head coach. All 400 wins have come at Santa Clara.
Santa Clara has a week off before opening West Coast Conference play Oct. 10 vs. San Diego.
"The last game before conference saw everything come together for us," said Smith. "You want to score multiple goals, you'd love to get a shutout and you'd love to give all your players a chance to get on the field and we did that today. We scored four good goals and had a shutout so we were very happy with our performance. We have next weekend off so we're going to take a few days off to let the body and mind heal up a little bit. Now we shift to conference play where we try to put ourselves in a position to win a title. To do that we need to have a good start against San Diego and BYU so we'll start focusing on those objectives this week."
As for the his 400th win, Smith was grateful to all those who have been a part of the women's soccer program over the past 27 years.
"Four hundred wins speaks to the program," said Smith. "We get a lot of support from the university and the athletic department. We also have countless players and coaches that have a lot to do with those 400 wins. I'm just the one guy that stuck around the longest. This is a team sport and this is a great program with a storied history and so we have so many coaches and players to thank for those 400 wins. I'm so thankful for all of the support over the years that has helped us get those 400 wins."
Santa Clara outshot Cal Poly 20-4 and 10-2 in shots on goal. Allie Vernon, Brittany Ambrose, Morgan Marlborough and Jordan Jesolva each scored a goal while Jesolva and Sofia Huerta had an assist each. Andi Tostanoski made two saves in net for the Broncos.
Vernon put the Broncos ahead in the 17th minute with her first goal of the year. Jesolva chipped a bouncing ball over the defender and Vernon beat the keeper to the ball to put on a soft touch with her head that bounced into the goal.
The Broncos took a 2-0 lead in the 41st minute off the foot of Ambrose. The ball wasn't cleared by the Mustang defense and Ambrose took control of the ball from outside the box and rocketed it past the goalkeeper for her first of the year.
Santa Clara outshot Cal Poly 10-1 and 6-0 in shots on goal in the first half. Jesolva and Robertson led the team with two shots each.
Marlborough added the third Bronco goal of the day in the 58th minute. Huerta centered the ball to just yards from the goal line and Marlborough got a solid shot off with her head.
Jesolva added a goal in the 70th minute to make the lead 4-0 Broncos. She dribbled around some defenders outside the box before squaring up and blasting a shot to the left side of the goal and past the diving goalkeeper.
Both teams cleared out the benches for the last 20 minutes of the game and Santa Clara held on for the 4-0 win.
Game Notes: Attendance was 975 … It was the second time this season a team failed to get a shot on goal in a half against the Broncos … Cal Poly did not have a shot on goal until the 55th minute … Santa Clara hit the post twice in the game … Backup goalkeeper Molly Mettler saw action for the second consecutive game.
