SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara women's soccer is getting set to kick off its 2015 season on Fri., Aug. 21 at 5 p.m. at UC Davis. They will play at Arizona on Sun., Aug. 23 at 6 p.m. The Broncos are looking to build on a 14-6 record from a season ago where they didn't lose to anyone outside the top-25. They also finished at 7-2 in the tough WCC, good for second place.
"We started practice two weeks ago so you never have enough time before the season starts," said Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith. "There will be a lot nervous energy in the game Friday because we don't play an exhibition game but the good news is that we play 20 games that really count, which will help us for the NCAA Tournament."
Santa Clara finished last season with an RPI of 49 while outscoring opponents 33-21. They attempted 236 shots to opponents 197 and held a 113-97 advantage in shots on goal.
Andi Tostanoski and Brittany Ambrose were named to the 2015 Preseason All-WCC Team while the Broncos were picked to finish second, behind defending champion BYU. The Broncos picked up two first place votes from the league's coaches.
Tostanoski, the 2014 WCC Goalkeeper of the Year, played almost every minute in net for Santa Clara and allowed 21 goals for a 1.06 GAA. She made 74 saves for a .779 save percentage while picking up eight solo shutouts, tied for most in the conference, and contributing the majority of the minutes to two more. This is the second time a Bronco has won Goalkeeper of the Year, after Bianca Henninger in 2011.
Ambrose, who is out for the year with an injury, was second on the team with six goals and 15 points. She tied for second on the team in assists with three as well. She scored four game-winners, including one in the 4-3 comeback win vs. Fresno State.
For the second year in a row the Broncos have lost a huge chunk of their scoring with the departure of Sofia Huerta. Huerta accounted for over half (17 of 33) of the team's goals in 2014.
"The downside to having someone so dominant like Sofia is that you can become reliant on them," said Smith. "Everyone else takes a supportive role instead of an aggressive role. Everyone knows they need to step up now. If six or seven people feel like they need to make up the difference then you can be an even more dynamic team. We're hoping that we have a number of people that want to make up the scoring punch we lost."
The top returning scorer will be Mariana Galvan who scored three goals last season. Kellie Peay, Ashley Doyle, and Anjel Brown each scored one goal last season. No returner had more than one assist last year. This just means that more people have a chance to step up and cement their place on the team.
"Being able to keep the ball better than our opponent would be a success for us this weekend." said Smith. "We always want to score two or more goals per game so scoring some goals will be big for us. That's one of our bigger question marks so reaching that goal will be a success. It will also be good to have the first-year players get some good experience in this opening weekend."
After playing at Davis and Arizona on the opening weekend, Santa Clara will play in the Notre Dame Invitational Aug. 28 and 30 vs. Notre Dame and Northwestern. The home-opener vs. Oklahoma will be a double-header with men's soccer.
The Broncos begin conference play with three games at home. They will take a break from WCC action on Oct. 15 and travel to Cal. Senior Day will be Oct. 24 when the Broncos take on the Cougars of BYU. The regular season concludes with three games on the road. The season finale will be Nov. 7 at Gonzaga.
With their eyes on returning to the NCAA Tournament, the Broncos are looking forward to a big 2015.
"The team is coming together very nicely and are already a close group," said Smith. "Their teamwork is very good for this early in the season so we see a lot of positive signs there. We have good depth and could play as many as 18 different players on the opening weekend. You don't really know until you get into your first real game so we'll know more Monday. We feel pretty good about where our group is right now and we're looking forward to the games."
