Sept. 18, 2005
BERKELEY, Calif. - It was a good thing that Tina Estrada ended up taking the field against No. 8 California on Sunday afternoon in Berkeley. With starter Amanda Poach and key reserve Courtney Lewis out due to injury, Estrada, a game-time decision to play, ended up burying the golden goal in the second overtime to give the No. 3 Broncos a 2-1 victory.
"Tina's a great goal-scorer, and with Jordan having four goals for us, it allows Tina to get on the field without all the attention being on her," said head coach Jerry Smith, who earned his 299th career victory. "I think she did find a little more space. Tina is used to scoring game-winning goals, she has a lot of them in her career here at Santa Clara so it was really appropriate for her to get the game-winner today."
Much like Friday night's match against UCLA, the Broncos surrendered a goal early on. This time, it was Cal's Liz Eisenberg who did the damage, striking in the fourth minute to put Santa Clara into an early hole.
Yet the Broncos continued to battle, and managed to outshoot the Golden Bears 11-8 for the match, but it wasn't until the 67th minute that they finally broke through. With her family watching proudly from the stands, Albuquerque, N.M. native Micaela Esquivel, who started the match at forward instead of her usual defender position, punched in the equalizer from Hayley Siegel's assist.
The score remained tied through a furious final 23 minutes of regulation and 18 minutes of overtime. Finally, with only one minute remaining in the second overtime period, Jordan Angeli and Tina Estrada penetrated the box in the face of the Cal back line.
Angeli's pass found Estrada, who freed herself towards the top-center of the box and let loose with a low line drive which beat Cal keeper Ashley Sulprizio and ignited a Bronco celebration.
Commented Smith on the importance of the win: "To lose a couple players then go down a goal after five minutes away from home against a top-ten team like Cal, and find a way to tie the game and win it in overtime is a good sign of our team's character going forward. This is one of those games like an NCAA playoff that we'll experience where we just have to be tough, grind it out and have a lot of heart, determination and character."
The Broncos (5-1-1) return home Friday night to take the pitch against the Billikens of Saint Louis at 8 p.m. The women's match is part of a special doubleheader which begins at 5:30 p.m. with the Bronco men taking on Florida International.
