SANTA CLARA, Calif. – For the 11th time in program history, Santa Clara women's soccer has won the West Coast Conference championship and secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, its sixth trip in the last seven years, 11th in the last 12, and 30th overall.

Due to the unusual nature of a season moved to the spring and featuring many postponed and canceled games across the country due to COVID-19, the 13th-ranked Broncos (7-1, 7-0 WCC), No. 11 in the RPI, will finish atop the Ken Pomeroy standings.

"Teams all around the country had to overcome a lot this year through the pandemic," Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith said. "It was especially tough for all of us in Santa Clara County so I'm even more proud of my team for winning the championship this year. We are grateful for all the hard work done by our conference and particularly Santa Clara and the athletic department to allow us this opportunity to go after and win the title."

Santa Clara faced a daunting task heading into 2020 with road games at BYU and at Pepperdine, arguably the two hardest places to win in the WCC. The Broncos didn't flinch and left Provo with a 2-1 victory on a late goal by Julie Doyle. Ten days later, they went to Malibu where they hadn't won in their last 10 tries, a streak dating back to 1999, and won a thriller 4-3 in double overtime.

"I'm incredibly proud of the student-athletes, coaches, and staff for this WCC championship," director of athletics Renee Baumgartner said. "The team has been resilient, tough, and thankful for the opportunity to compete in a pandemic. It's always difficult to win a conference championship, especially during a year like this. They went on the road and won at BYU and Pepperdine, two very tough places to come away with a victory, showing their character and will to win. I couldn't be prouder of this team."

With today's #WCCsports results and one week remaining in the season, @SCUWomensSoccer has secured the West Coast Conference championship! pic.twitter.com/s5fFVYkDyI

— West Coast Conference (@WCCsports) April 11, 2021

A high-powered offense, currently seventh in nation with 2.7 goals per game and eighth with 8.3 points per game, is led by Kelsey Turnbow who leads the team in goals (7) and points (18) while tying for the team-lead in assists (4). She has scored in all but one game and is tied for sixth in the country with 1.0 goals per game and tied for fifth with 2.6 points per game.

Not to be overshadowed, Izzy D'Aquila, the reigning WCC Freshman of the year, has scored five times and added an assist. Five other Broncos have found the back of the net with 10 adding at least one assist, led by Sally Menti's four.

The Broncos were set to play Gonzaga today at 1 p.m. in the final match game of the year but the Bulldogs are currently in COVID-19 protocols and the game was canceled.

The regular season finale is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. at San Diego.

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