SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Coming off a 14-win season, Santa Clara women's soccer fell just short of the 25th NCAA Tournament appearance in the program's rich history. Santa Clara finished with an RPI of 49, the third lowest to not the make the tournament. After sitting at 4-4 through eight games, Santa Clara finished the season 12-2, including 7-2 in the tough West Coast Conference. This is the first time in the history of the WCC that the second place team did not make the NCAA Tournament.
"I'm very proud of our team this year," said Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith. "We didn't get into the NCAA Tournament this year and you can always look back and say you should have done a little more in a game here or a game there. Often times it comes down to one game or one goal. Honestly, we were a little surprised not to get in. Most of the people looking at Santa Clara were surprised we didn't get in."
Despite the frustration of not receiving a bid to the tournament, Smith is proud of all his team accomplished the year.
"I'm proud of the team in several different ways," Smith explained. "We finished second in a very tough conference. The WCC sent its third and fourth place teams to the tournament this year. We finished just one point behind the champions BYU. We only lost two games in conference and both were on the road to teams that are going to the NCAA Tournament. In the final Coaches' Poll we finished 29th in the country. In one poll we think does a good job, Bennett Rank, we finished No. 22."
Eleven times in the history of Santa Clara women's soccer the team had fewer than 14 regular season wins, yet advanced to the NCAA Tournament, including twice to the Final Four.
"We had 14 wins and no losses or ties to anyone outside of the top-20," continued Smith. "Even some of our Final Four teams weren't able to do that during the regular season. I'm very proud of the team for being able to have that kind of season."
Taking into account the obstacles this Broncos team had to handle makes those 14 wins even more impressive.
"It was a season where we had to replace 10 seniors, which was a big hurdle to get over," said Smith. "In addition to that we had several injuries to key players. We lost Julie Vass and Katie Speidel for a large chunk of the season. We lost Jordan Jesolva and Alyssa Kleiner to season-ending injuries. To finish where we did in the polls and in the conference after overcoming 10 graduations and some injuries to key players were certainly things we're very proud of this year."
The only other time in the past 26 seasons Santa Clara didn't make the NCAA Tournament was in 2008. That team was nowhere near as deserving as these Broncos.
"It's only the second time in the last 26 years we haven't gone to the NCAA Tournament so that's disappointing but we feel like we did enough to get there," said Smith. "Ultimately a committee decides if you get there and when you leave things in the hands of a committee, there's always a chance things don't go your way. That's the way things were for us this year."
It wasn't just Smith who recognized the talent of this team. The fellow WCC coaches honored six Broncos with All-Conference recognition, including the co-Player of the Year and the Goalkeeper of the Year.
"I'm also proud of Sofia Huerta for winning co-Player of the Year in our conference and of Andi Tostanoski for winning Goalkeeper of the Year. We're also proud to have six of our players honored at an All-Conference level," said Smith.
Despite the tough ending to the season, Santa Clara has nothing to regret.
"There's a lot to be proud of," Smith concluded. "We're disappointed not to be advancing but of the things we can control, I felt we did them very well. Even though we're not in the NCAA Tournament it will go down as a regular season that very few of our teams were able to achieve."
