BLACKSBURG, Va. – Looking to return home to host the Elite 8, No. 9 Santa Clara women's soccer faces No. 4 Virginia Tech in the Sweet 16 at 10 a.m. Pacific on Sun., Nov. 24. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. On Nov. 22 Santa Clara took down No. 25 Boston University 2-1 to advance to the program's 13th Sweet 16. The Broncos' last Sweet 16 trip was in 2009 when they fell to Stanford 1-0 in Palo Alto. The team's last win in a Sweet 16 game was in 2004 when Santa Clara took down North Carolina 1-0 on the way to the Final Four.
"We're very happy to be in the Sweet 16," said Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith. "To be one of the 16 teams still in the hunt for the championship is very exciting. We look forward to the match up with a very good Virginia Tech team. We've played two very tough games to get here so we feel that we are ready for the challenge. Scoring the winning goal in both games in the second half really showed some character from our team."
Santa Clara is 16-4-1 in 2013 and 4-2 on the road. The Broncos have outscored teams 61-24 while outshooting teams 382-233 and 199-120 in shots on goal. Sofia Huerta leads the team with 38 points and is tied for the lead in both goals (15) and assists (8). Huerta has had a hand in all four of Santa Clara's postseason goals. Morgan Marlborough is second on the team with 36 points with 15 goals and six assists while Julie Johnston has 32 points on 12 goals and eight assists. Freshman Jordan Jesolva has scored two goals and added two assists while Sarah Jackson and Alyson Birgel have each scored three goals while Jackson also had four assists. Andi Tostanoski has a 1.19 GAA and a .800 save percentage. She has made 92 saves with 6.3 shutouts.
The Broncos are 1-0-0 all-time vs. Virginia Tech with the only meeting coming in 2005 during the regular season. Santa Clara won that game 3-1 as part of the WCC/ACC Challenge in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Hokies are 18-4-2 in 2013 and 11-2-0 at home. Their first lost came at the hands of No. 1 North Carolina in the seventh game of the season by a 2-1 score. Virginia Tech has faced nine ranked teams this season and has a record of 6-3. The Hokies biggest win was at No. 1 Virginia in the ACC Tournament. It is the lone loss on the season for the Cavaliers.
Virginia Tech has outscored opponents 50-18 in 2013 while outshooting teams 350-211 and 142-86 in shots on goal. Jazmine Reeves and Murielle Tiernan lead the team with 25 points each on 10 goals and five assists apiece. Ashley Meier had found the back of the net eight times while adding two helpers. Kelsey Loupee leads the Hokie's with nine assists and has scored two goals. Dayle Colpitts has started all 24 games in net for Virginia Tech and has allowed a 0.71 GAA. Colpitts has a .788 save percentage and has made 63 saves while picking up 10 shuouts.