SANTA CLARA, Calif. – In the final nonconference game of the season, Santa Clara women's soccer, No. 39 in the first RPI of the year, hosts UC Irvine on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Anteaters will be the first opponent the Broncos have faced this year that didn't not make the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

Santa Clara is 12-0-1 all-time against UC Irvine with the first meeting coming in 1984. Last year the Broncos won 4-0 in Irvine. The last meeting in Santa Clara was in 2014. Santa Clara won that match 2-0.

Last week the Broncos took on No. 2 Stanford and fell 2-1. It was the fifth ranked opponent for Santa Clara this season. The Broncos are now 2-2-1 against NSCAA top-25 teams.

THE BRONCOS
Santa Clara (2-4-3) is led on offense by Jordan Jesolva's 10 pints. She leads the team with four goals and two assists as well as 16 shots and nine on goal. Jenna Roering has scored a pair of goals to go with an assist. Julie Vass, Janae Gonzalez, and Kellie Peay have each found the back of the net once.

Melissa Lowder has allowed seven goals in seven games for a 1.00 GAA. She has 21 saves for a .750 save percentage and two shutouts. Courtney Ogren has allowed four goals in three games and has a 1.36 GAA. She has made 16 saves for a .800 save percentage.

THE ANTEATERS
UC Irvine (8-2) had won four straight before falling in its last game at Utah 1-0. The Anteaters are 2-2 on the road in 2016.

They have outscored opponents 22-7 and outshot teams 142-80 with a 68-29 advantage in shots on goal.

Kiana Palacios leads the team with nine goals and 23 points. She is second with five assists. Noel Baham is tops on the team with six assists and has added three goals as well. Lili Andino has scored four times and five other players have at least one goal. Grayson Galbraith has five assists and six others have added at least one.

Maddie Newsom has played almost every minute in net and has allowed seven goals for a 0.68 GAA. She has made 22 saves for a .759 save percentage had has four shutouts on the season.

Tickets: Season or single-game tickets are available. Click here to purchase online or contact the ticket office weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (408) 554-4660 or BroncoTickets@scu.edu. Group discounts are also available through our ticket office sales and service consultants. Gates to Stevens Stadium, as well as its ticket office, are open one hour prior to the start of the match.

Parking: For weekday matches, the Leavey Center lot, located on Accolti Way off El Camino Real, is free beginning one hour prior to kickoff. Any other parking facility on campus will be subject to normal daily rates or restrictions, including the main structure, located adjacent to Stevens Stadium on Palm Drive. During the weekend, campus parking facilities are free (except for permit required locations). Click here for a campus map and parking restrictions.

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