Aug. 20, 2004

BERKELEY, Calif. - Soccer America magazine has selected Santa Clara University as having the second-best college women's soccer team in the nation in its annual preseason top-25 poll, the popular soccer publication announced today. The Broncos, led by 18th-year head coach Jerry Smith, returns a veteran side that is led by senior All-America midfielder Leslie Osborne and a number of talented returnees. Santa Clara finished 14-4-6 last season and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, where it fell to eventual champion North Carolina on its home field in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Tar Heels are ranked first in the poll, while Notre Dame, Texas and Florida State round out the top five behind the Broncos. Three West Coast Conference teams appear in the poll, including Portland at sixth and Pepperdine at number 22.

Santa Clara opens its home season Sept. 24 in the annual adidas Classic. Season and match tickets are available by clicking here.

Santa Clara opens its season August 27 on the road at Cal Poly before embarking on trips to South Bend, Ind. and New Brunswick, N.J. for tournaments at Notre Dame and Rutgers. Prior to conference play, the Broncos will play 12 non-league matches, including home games against Marquette, Denver, Stanford and Cal. Season tickets, family plans and single game tickets are available for SCU soccer by calling 408/554-4660 or by clicking here. Special group and team rate plans are also available by calling Daniel Galvin at 408/554-4066 or by downloading a special form here. For the fourth-straight season, coverage of the majority of Bronco games will be offered live via SantaClaraBroncos.com either through an audio broadcast or live stats. A complete schedule of live coverage will be available soon. The Broncos open their home season Friday, Sept. 24 in the annual adidas Classic at Buck Shaw Stadium. Stanford plays Denver in the event's first match of the doubleheader at 5 p.m., while Santa Clara hosts Denver in the nightcap at 7:30. On Sunday, Sept. 26, the Cardinal plays Marquette at 11 a.m. and the Broncos host Denver beginning at 1:30 p.m. Soccer America College Women's 2004 Preseason Top 25
(with conference and 2003 record)

Rank	School	Conference	2003 Record
1	North Carolina	Atlantic Coast	27-0-0
1	Santa Clara	West Coast	14-4-6
3	Notre Dame	Big East	12-9-0
4	Texas	Big 12	12-9-0
5.	Florida State	Atlantic Coast	17-8-1
6.	Portland	West Coast	18-3-2
7.	Virginia	Atlantic Coast	12-5-4
8.	Tennessee	Southeastern	17-5-2
9.	Penn State	Big Ten	19-3-3
10.	UCLA	Pacific-10	20-2-3
11.	Texas A&M	Big 12	13-6-3
12.	Clemson	Atlantic Coast	11-7-2
13.	Connecticut	Big East	15-6-3
14.	Stanford	Pacific-10	10-9-2
15.	Utah	Mountain West	16-2-2
16.	Florida	Southeastern	19-4-2
17.	Colorado	Big 12	15-4-1
18.	Ohio State	Big Ten	13-5-3
19.	Kansas	Big 12	18-6-1
20.	Arizona State	Pacific-10	13-5-3
21.	Boston College	Big East	15-3-3
22.	Pepperdine	West Coast	14-6-1
23.	Auburn	Southeastern	14-4-3
24.	West Virginia	Big East	17-4-2
25.	Nebraska	Big 12	13-8-1