Oct. 16, 2005
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Although the Santa Clara defense brought a four-match shutout streak into Sunday afternoon's contest against San Francisco, the Bronco offense took its turn in the spotlight as they laid a 32-shot barrage on the Dons in a 5-0 victory at Buck Shaw Stadium.
The fifth-ranked Broncos (13-2-1, 3-0-0 WCC) unleashed a blitzkrieg on the San Francisco (3-11-2, 1-2-0 WCC) back line right from the opening whistle. They wasted no time getting on the board as Hayley Siegel stuffed home a loose ball in front exactly four minutes in for the early lead. Tina Estrada's one-timer of a Meagan Snell pass at the 9:40 mark gave Santa Clara a 2-0 lead and another attacking sequence in the 25th minute climaxed with Siegel's second goal of the match as the Broncos outshot the Dons 19-1 in the first half.
Junior Elyse Shelger also joined the scoring parade, netting the first two goals of her collegiate career late in the match. After two earlier shots on goal which didn't find their way home Shelger finally broke through in the 86th minute as she sent a low line drive to the far post.
"We got to play everyone on our team today, everyone contributed, and Elyse got her first goals of her career," head coach Jerry Smith commented after the victory. "I'm reasonably pleased with where we are right now going into an important week of preparation before we play Portland on Friday."
Other Broncos provided increased pressure on the Dons as Jordan Angeli fired four shots on goal in the match. Snell put two shots on frame in the match, including a shot that beat San Francisco keeper Katie Hodgson but hit the post and bounced away.
Not to be outdone, the Santa Clara defense extended its shutout streak to five matches with another stifling effort. The Dons only managed five shots for the match, with four of those coming late in the second half. Meagan McCray made three saves on the day to post her second shutout of the season. Additionally, with today's shutout the Broncos have played a span of 516:01 without allowing a goal.
The stakes rise this Friday night as No. 5 Santa Clara travels up to Portland to take on the top-ranked Pilots in a highly-anticipated showdown between two of the WCC's perennial powers. The match will kick-off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on College Sports Television (CSTV). Following Friday night's clash the Broncos will head to Spokane to take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs for a 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon match.
