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SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Heading into the final home games of the regular season, No. 20 Santa Clara women's soccer hosts San Diego on Thursday at 7 p.m. and No. 5 BYU at 1 p.m. on Saturday for senior day. Last week the Broncos fell at No. 23 Cal 1-0 but came back with a 1-0 win at Portland. They are now 10-5-0 on the season and 3-1-0 in the WCC, good for a tie for second place.

The senior class of Ali Jones, Megan Crosson, Dani Weatherholt, and Andi Tostanoski may not be as big as some classes of the past, but their impact on the women's soccer program is still great.

"This has been a really interesting four years for this group of seniors," said Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith. "We were penalty kicks away from going to the quarterfinals in one of their years and for the first time in my 28 years we unexpectedly didn't make the NCAA Tournament in another year. One of the things that will define this group of seniors is their resiliency. It's a really tough group. The reason we're having a wonderful year to this point, is largely because of the senior class' mental toughness. Student leadership is the most important factor in college sports and our wonderful senior class has provided that this year."

On Sunday the Broncos will also welcome back many of their alums from their rich history.

"Not only is it senior day on Saturday vs. BYU but it's also the day we welcome our alums back to campus," said Smith. "We're excited to welcome them back and every time our alums are here our team feels pressure of our history but is also inspired to play well. We look forward to honoring our wonderful seniors on Saturday and welcoming back our alums. Hopefully we'll put on a good show that they'll also be proud of."

Grace Cutler leads Santa Clara with four goals and is tied for the team lead with eight points. Weatherholt also has eight points on three goals and two assists. Julie Vass has found the back of the net three times and added one assist while Mariana Galvan has scored three goals, all in double overtime. Crosson is tied for first in the WCC with five assists. Three other Broncos have scored twice each.

Tostanoski has allowed eight goals for a 0.54 GAA. She has made 67 saves and has a .893 save percentage to go with seven shutouts.

"Historically you don't have a chance to win the conference with more than one loss," said Smith. "Every game is a very tough game that seems to be a grinder. As a purist I might prefer a double round robin so you get a home game and an away game but we have a single round robin and every game really matters. I expect the same thing in both of our games this weekend."

Santa Clara is 16-7-0 all-time vs. San Diego with the first meeting coming in 1992. Last year the Broncos won 3-1 in San Diego.

San Diego (3-10-2, 1-3-0 WCC) is 1-7-0 on the road this season. Last week they lost 2-1 vs. Saint Mary's. They have played three ranked teams with two losses by a goal each (No. 4 UCLA 1-0, No. 5 BYU 1-0) and a tie (No. 23 Long Beach State 0-0).

"San Diego is a tough team to play against," said Smith. "They aren't having as good year record wise as they usually do but they're a tough team to score against and bring a lot of energy and passion. They always have a fighting mentality so it will be a difficult game."

Jacquelin Altschuld leads the Toreros with 11 points and five assists to go with three goals. Victoria Walker leads the way with four goals and has two assists. Caitlyn Kretzschmar has found the back of the net three times and five other San Diego players have at least one goal.

Michelle Craft has seen the bulk of time in goal. She has allowed 14 goals for a 1.31 GAA and has made 59 saves for a .808 save percentage. McKenna Tollack has allowed 11 goals for a 2.17 GAA and has made 26 saves for a .703 save percentage. Both keepers have one shutout.

Santa Clara is 7-1-2 all-time vs. BYU with the first meeting coming in 1993. Last year BYU picked up its first win over the Broncos with a 5-2 victory in Provo.

BYU (12-1-1, 4-0-0 WCC) is 4-1-1 on the road. Last week they took down Pacific 2-0. The Cougars lone loss of the season came at No. 2 Stanford 1-0. They also battled to a 1-1 tie at Cal Poly.

"BYU is the champ from last year and undefeated in conference this year," said Smith. "Since joining our conference they've always been one of the teams to beat and they beat us pretty good last year. Our team is up for the challenge this week. We've played a tough schedule so we're a battle-hardened team and we're ready to take on anybody."

Nadia Gomes leads BYU with 13 points and is tied for the team lead with five goals and three assists. Elena Medeiros also has five goals and has one assist. Last year's co-WCC Player of the Year Ashley Hatch has scored four goals to go with two assists. Five other Cougars have scored at least one goal.

Rachel Boaz has allowed four goals for a 0.29 GAA, which puts her at No. 4 in the country. She has made 58 saves and leads the nation with a .935 save percentage. Boaz has collected seven shutouts.