Sept. 24, 2002
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Santa Clara University women's soccer sophomore Leslie Osborne was named the West Coast Conference's Player of the Week for her performance this past weekend at the Stanford Nike Invitational, leading the Broncos to a double-overtime tie against No. 16 Florida and a 4-0 victory over Oklahoma, in which Osborne had a hand in all four scores.
Osborne scored the game-winner against the Sooners in the 25th minute. Teammate Devvyn Hawkins stepped in to win a ball about 40 yards out and then connected with Osborne down the field, where Osborne then juked around a defender before beating Oklahoma keeper Catherine Wade from 10 yards away.
In second-half action, although not credited with an assist, Osborne began the drive that gave SCU a 2-0 lead in the 57th minute. She played a ball to Megan Kakadelas on the near side, who returned the ball to her in the corner. Osborne's cross was cleared away by a Sooner defender, right into Kakadelas, but Kakadelas' shot was deflected away. Kristi Candau collected the ball on the far side and caught Wade off guard.
Oklahoma subbed six field players after Candau almost scored again on a diving header, but the fresh legs did not help the Sooners, as Candau did find the back of the net five minutes later. On this play, defender Micaela Esquivel found Osborne at midfield, who then played a ball to Kakadelas, who crossed it to Candau, for a six-yard shot and a 3-0 lead.
The Broncos finished scoring for the day in the 77th minute, when Hawkins passed the ball down the near line to Kakadelas, who then crossed the ball to the far side, where Osborne headed the ball in for her second goal of the contest.
The Broncos (4-2-1) return home for the first time in a month and will host the seventh annual adidas Classic this weekend. The tournament will open with second-ranked Stanford taking on No. 12 Tennessee on Friday, at 5 p.m. Santa Clara will then host Montana at 7:30 p.m. The Classic will conclude with two matches on Sunday, including the Broncos' 1 p.m. contest against the Lady Volunteers. All four games will be played at Buck Shaw Stadium.
