SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Getting set to play on the newly renovated Buck Shaw Field at Stevens' Stadium for the first time, Santa Clara women's soccer hosts Oklahoma Fri., Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. and Penn State Sun., Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. Last week the Broncos took down Kansas 1-0 in double overtime. Santa Clara is 3-2-0 on the year. For live coverage check www.SantaClaraBroncos.com.
"We learned that our team can play tough on the road with our first five games away from home," said Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith. "All three weekends added up to a tough stretch for the team. To find ourselves in overtime in the fifth game meant the team could have easily given in but the team kept battling. We scored a wonderful goal and our team now knows that when it comes to grinding out tough road wins, we're very capable."
Much has been said of the new renovations to the soccer facility on the Mission campus and this will be the first time the women's team plays a game in the updated stadium. Add in some tough opponents and Smith and the team are eager to get the home schedule started.
"We love playing at home at any time but especially after five road games and in a brand new stadium," said Smith. "There's so much to look forward to this weekend and our team is giddy about playing at home. We're playing two very tough teams that went to the tournament last year and expect to go to the tournament every year. All that adds up to a really exciting weekend for us."
Santa Clara is outscoring opponents 6-4 on the season but is being outshot 76-44 and 38-16 in shots on goal. Much of the difference is from the game at No. 6 Notre Dame when they were outshot 29-2 and 14-1 in shots on goal.
Jenna Roering leads Santa Clara with four points and two assists. She is one of six Broncos to score one goal this year. Two other Broncos have an assist on the year as well.
Andi Tostanoski has been terrific in net allowing just four goals in five games for a 0.78 GAA. She has made 34 saves with a .895 save percentage and has already collected three shutouts.
Santa Clara is 1-0-0 all-time vs. Oklahoma with the only meeting coming in 2002. The Broncos came away with a 4-0 win at the Stanford Nike Invitational.
Oklahoma enters the week with a 3-2-0 record. Last week they won 8-1 at UTSA. They are currently on a three-game winning streak after dropping the first two games on the road 2-1 in double overtime, the second to No. 11 South Carolina. Oklahoma is outscoring opponents 16-5. They hold a 92-45 advantage in shots and a 40-17 lead in shots on goal.
Emily Parker and Caren Nelson have each scored three goals to tie for the team lead with six points. Liz Keester has scored twice with two assists and also has six points. Anna Crawford is tops on the team with three assists. Eleven different Sooners have found the back of the net while six have at least one assist.
Kassidie Stade has started four games in net and allowed five goals for a 1.15 GAA. She has made 11 saves for a .688 save percentage and has one shutout. Kaitlyn Fahrner started one game and stopped the lone shot on goal she saw.
Santa Clara is 1-1-1 all-time vs. Penn State with the first meeting coming in 1996. The last time the two schools met in 2005 the Nittany Lions came away with a 2-1 win in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
Penn State is 3-0-1 on the season with the tie coming vs. No. 21 Duke. Last week they also topped Arkansas 4-2. This will be their first road games of the season. The Nittany Lions are outscoring teams 10-5 and outshooting them 76-32 with a 37-16 edge in shots on goal.
Mallory Weber leads the team with eight points and is tied for the team lead with three goals and two assists. Megan Schafter has six points and is tied with Weber with three goals. Nickolette Driesse is tied for the team lead with two assists. Five different players have scored and six has an assist.
Britt Eckerstrom has allowed three goals for a 0.75 GAA. She has made nine saves and has a .750 save percentage with one shutout.
