Sept. 2, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara (2-1-0) heads to the East Coast for two non-conference matches this weekend, taking on Maryland on Friday evening and Georgetown on Sunday afternoon.
The Broncos fell three spots in the NSCAA national rankings from No. 19 to its preseason mark of No. 22 following last weekend's tough 1-0 loss to Utah, who earned a No. 21 ranking courtesy of the win.
Santa Clara has recorded six goals from six different goal scorers, and has yet to surrender a goal in the run of play as the Utes' tally came off a dead ball restart. Redshirt senior Jordan Angeli, freshman Amanda Webster, and junior Maxine Goynes continue to lead the team in points with three each.
HOMECOMING
Redshirt junior Amanda Poach (Bowie, Md.) and redshirt senior Hayley Siegel (Ellicott City, Md.) will get a chance to step on the field in front of friends and family this weekend as both games are near each player's hometowns. Siegel has started all three games at midfield this season and has registered one shot, while Poach, who has missed the last two seasons due to injury, is hoping to make a return to the field this weekend.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
The Terps are currently undefeated, picking up four wins against Army, Fordham, Seton Hall, and Loyola (Md.). Maryland's last game was on Tuesday, Sept. 1, when they came back from two goals down to beat Loyola 5-2, and the Broncos should have an advantage over the Terps having last competed on Friday. Sophomore Jasmyne Spencer and freshman Caitlin Mooney each have three goals, and Spencer leads in points (7) having added one assist. Senior Mary Casey has started every game in net and has surrendered three goals while making eight saves. Santa Clara is 2-0 all-time against Maryland, last defeating them in 2000 by a score of 4-2.
SCOUTING GEORGETOWN
The Hoyas are off to a great start, remaining unbeaten after four contests while knocking in 15 goals and allowing zero. Sophomore forward Camille Trujillo leads the team in goals (4) and has been credited with one assist to put her in a tie with teammate Ingrid Wells for points, who has two goals and five assists for nine points. The Hoyas have also had eight different goal scorers with at least five notching multiple goals. Junior goalkeeper Jackie DesJardin, who graduated from Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, will most likely be in between the pipes for the contest and has 14 saves on the year in three complete games. Georgetown should be well rested for the match having played its last game on Wednesday, when it pounded James Madison 4-0. Sunday's match will be the first ever meeting between the two teams.
STINGY DEFENSE
In it's first three games of the year, the Bronco defense has only allowed three total shots on goal, helping sophomore goalkeeper Bianca Henninger earn her first two collegiate shutouts. Henninger also picked up her first career assist on the team's fourth goal against San Jose State by clearing the Spartan back line with her punt.
FOLLOW SANTA CLARA ONLINE
Both Maryland and Georgetown will be providing Gametracker live scoring for the matches this weekend. In addition, Georgetown will also be streaming live video on Hoya Vision, the school's All-Access web channel. Links to Gametracker and All-Access can be found on the women's soccer schedule on santaclarabroncos.com.
WCC PRESEASON POLL
The Bronco women have been picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference in the annual preseason poll and are aiming to return to the NCAA Tournament for the 20th time under head coach Jerry Smith, who is currently 344-103-34 while at the helm of Santa Clara.
ON DECK
Following this weekend's matches, the Broncos return to the Mission Campus for the Santa Clara Classic on Sept. 11-13, taking on No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 14 Purdue. No. 4 Stanford completes the four-team tournament which will be one of the most competitive in NCAA DI Women's Soccer this season.
