Oct. 1, 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 the second straight week, after scoring the golden goal in the fifth minute of overtime to lead the Broncos to a 2-1 victory over 14th-ranked Tennessee last weekend.
She shares this week's honor with San Francisco's Meghan Daly and Pepperdine's Ali Pavoni.
Osborne, of Menomonee Falls, Wis., earned all-tournament team honors for her performance at the SCU adidas Classic, which also included scoring the first goal against the Lady Vols. Tennessee struck first in the match, but Santa Clara was quick to respond, scoring the equalizer just 16 seconds later. Devvyn Hawkins sent a pass to Osborne, and with her back to the net, flicked the ball over Vol netminder Ellen Dean.
Both teams remained aggressive, and Santa Clara saw some more opportunities before the end of regulation, including a shot that hit off the right post with six minutes remaining. With less than three minutes left in the second period, the Broncos created a flurry of activity in front of Tennessee's goal, including a quick side shot from Osborne that took an impressive save from Dean to keep the game going. Lana Bowen took the throw in for the Broncos on the near side in the fifth minute of overtime and found Osborne open in the box. Osborne maneuvered around a defender before scoring the golden goal, her third overall tally of the season.
The forward earned the same league honors last week for her performance 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 she had a hand in all four scores.
Santa Clara returns to action this weekend in Southern California, taking on UCLA on Friday, October 4 and USC on Sunday. The match against the third-ranked Bruins will begin at 7 p.m., while the contest against No. 18 Trojans is slated to begin at 1 p.m.
