SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Coming off one of the most successful seasons in the last 10 years, Santa Clara women's soccer finished the 2013 season ranked No. 7 in the NSCAA Coaches Poll. The Broncos were the highest West Coast Conference team with Portland finishing at No. 11 and BYU finishing at No. 23.

"Our mode of operation here for many years has been to ease into the season," said Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith. "We're built for late season success, so to have your highest ranking in the last poll of the year is a job well done. We were able to find ways to improve throughout the year and we got acknowledgment from the other coaches. Generally, if you go out in the round of 16 you're going to be ranked nine or higher because eight other teams went farther than you. I think that shows some respect for our program because the other coaches saw how good a team we had. I feel very good about finishing the year with our highest ranking and the players and coaches should be very proud of that."

The Broncos finished the 2013 season 16-4-2 overall and 8-1-0 in conference. They played nine top-25 teams with all four loses and both ties coming against ranked teams. Santa Clara was No. 20 in the final RPI.

Santa Clara finished second in the nation in scoring offense with 2.82 goals per game and was fifth with 7.50 points per game. The Broncos outscored opponents 62-25 while outshooting teams 398-242 and 208-127 in shots on goal. They picked up 110 corner kicks while allowing just 78. Santa Clara dominated both halves, outscoring opponents 35-12 in the first half and 26-12 in the second half.

The Broncos had four First Team All-West Region selections, the West Region Coach of the Year, seven All-WCC selections and two All-Americans. Julie Johnston was also named WCC Player of the Year and a M.A.C. Hermann Trophy semifinalist for helping lead Santa Clara to a share of the WCC title.