Aug. 28, 2006
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Another new face on the Santa Clara University women's soccer squad provided the game-winning goal Sunday afternoon as outside back Hillary Schwarzbach's first career goal gave the No. 2 Broncos a 1-0 win over the Utah Utes and their eighth Santa Clara adidas Classic title in the 12-year history of the tournament. Freshman Kiki Bosio was also recognized as the tournament's Most Valuable Player for the offensive threats she provided over the weekend.
Santa Clara (2-0-0) will now look ahead to a pair of matched at the Notre Dame Tournament in South Bend, Ind. next weekend, starting things off against the Harvard Crimson at 2 p.m. PT Friday before facing off with the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. PT.
Despite outshooting the Utes 16-9 Sunday, the Broncos couldn't quite get the ball in the net until earning a corner kick late in the 73rd minute. Captain Marian Dalmy sent a looping free kick into the far end of the box, where Schwarzbach perfectly one-timed a bullet past Utah goalkeeper Ashley Mason for the game's lone score.
A senior transfer from USC, Schwarzbach has started the first two contests of 2006 at left back and today proved that she is capable of producing in that role. After notching four assists in over three-plus seasons with the Women of Troy, Schwarzbach broke through for her first collegiate goal in only her second contest as a Bronco.
"I saw the ball coming in, and I knew it was going to be pretty close. Tiff [Roberts] was going up for it, but I yelled for her to let it by, and I just nailed it," the Santa Cruz native said of her game-winner. "I t felt pretty good."
The Broncos had more chances to score throughout the day, just missing by mere inches in some cases. Bosio had two great chances, one when she took a textbook through ball from Kelly Giddings in the 15th minute but saw her shot go just inches over the crossbar. Lexi Orand also beat Mason in the 40th minute but her angled shot rolled across the yawning goal mouth just about two feet from the line.
But it spoke to the persistence of the team when they finally broke through with Schwarzbach's goal at the 74:00 mark.
"Today was really like a lot of soccer games, and you really have to stay focused, hopeful and optimistic," said head coach Jerry Smith. "It's a credit to our players, particularly a lot of our new players, that they really kept working and believing. Our front line was once again very dangerous and created a lot of opportunities for the team today, and Hillary just scored a great goal for us."
Utah also had its chances during the match, most notably in the six minutes following the SCU goal. The Utes hit the crossbar twice in that six-minute span following the goal, but the rest of the time Bronco goalkeeper Meagan McCray stayed strong in net, making three saves in equaling her 2005 shutout total with her second in two games.
Following the victory, the Broncos had four of their own named to the All-Tournament squad. Bosio, who assisted on Friday night's game-winner against Wake Forest and was a constant threat to score all weekend, took home MVP honors, while fellow newcomers Katherine Reynolds, who scored the game-winner Friday night, and midfielder Chioma Igwe were also named to the team. McCray rounded out the Bronco picks, having earned a pair of shutouts in net.
"It feels amazing, but as a team we really stepped it up," Bosio said after being named MVP. "In coming games it will make me less nervous, and if I can capitalize and score on more of these shots on goal that I am getting, I'll have more confidence in scoring."
In addition to her assist Friday night, Bosio also put five of her six shots on frame Sunday afternoon, including a free kick from the right corner just outside of the penalty area that was saved by Mason.
"Kiki did everything that we hoped she would do when we were recruiting her," Smith said of the dynamic freshman. "She worked hard all over the field, made a lot of unselfish runs that you won't see on the stat sheet, and I thought she was the most dangerous player out on the field today."
"Its pretty typical for us going into a new season to really look at our new players and give them an opportunity to prove themselves right out of the gate, and they definitely did," Smith explained about the impact of all the new Broncos on this Opening Weekend. "You look at our players chosen for the All-Tournament team, and Meagan was a backup goalkeeper last year, Chioma is a transfer player, and Katherine and Kiki are freshmen. So we're very, very happy with the new players that we've added to the team."
Santa Clara adidas Classic All-Tournament Team
MVP - Kiki Bosio, Santa Clara
Chioma Igwe, Santa Clara
Meagan McCray, Santa Clara
Katherine Reynolds, Santa Clara
Adele Letro, Utah
Ashley Mason, Utah
Melissa Wayman, Utah
Megan Upchurch, Wake Forest
Camelyn Dillon, Wake Forest
Marisa Abegg, Stanford
Rachel Beuhler, Stanford
