March 17, 2004

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University women's soccer team has announced four scrimmages as part of the spring season. Head coach Jerry Smith and his returning players will begin conditioning during the first week of the spring quarter (week of March 29) in preparation for the off-season matches.

Santa Clara will most likely play through the spring without six starters from the 2003 season. All-American Leslie Osborne is currently competing with the U.S. National Team in preparation for the Olympic Games, while juniors Bree Horvath and Megan Kakadelas are nursing injuries. Junior defender Jessica Ballweg could miss time while training with the Under-21 National Team, and freshmen Tina Estrada and Julie Ryder could also miss time while working with the Under-19 National Team.

"The double-edged sword of recruiting the best student-athletes is that you might not always have them," Smith said. "We're very happy for their opportunities, however, it certainly makes it more difficult to get the team working together in preparation for the fall. However, you play the cards you're dealt; we have a talented pool of players here it gives us a chance to try some new things out."

The Broncos will play Bay Area rival Stanford and participate in California's 7Aside Tournament. The Broncos will also scrimmage twice against the Women's Premier Soccer League's California Storm, featuring many former WUSA members, including former Bronco Brandi Chastain. Those scrimmages will take place at Santa Clara Soccer Park, located about four miles from campus, near the Santa Clara Golf and Tennis Club. Cross streets are Centennial Boulevard and Tasman Drive Please click here for a detailed map.

The Bronco coaching staff is currently working on adding a fifth date to the spring schedule, so please periodically check back to this calendar.

Spring practices will focus on fundamental training with each team member, adding technical skill to passing, dribbling and heading abilities. Smith said they also do functional training, where he breaks the team into groups and focuses on different positions.

"We usually don't win a lot of games in the spring because we're not working on team concepts or tactics," Smith explained. "We're taking advantage of opportunities to experiment with some of the technical things we're working on and see how they work in live game situations."

Women's Soccer 2004 Spring Schedule