SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara women's soccer faced one of the toughest schedules in the country during the 2016 season and used some early season adversity to grow and advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.

The Broncos (12-7-4, 6-2-1 WCC), ranked No. 17 in the final NSCAA Coaches' Poll and No. 23 in the final RPI, finished the season with nine matches against ranked teams and went 3-4-2 in those outings. They also went 5-4-4 against teams that made the NCAA Tournament, including a victory over the eventual national champion.

All seven of Santa Clara's losses were by just one goal, the second season in a row that happened. Before that, the Broncos hadn't accomplished the feat since 2001 when they won the national championship.

"I'm very proud of my staff and our staff is very proud of the team," Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith said. "We had a great season, being in the quarterfinals. We put together a nonconference schedule that was the toughest in program history. We knew that was going to kill us or make us stronger and it made us stronger. We had some great wins and to play as well as we did in the NCAA Tournament is what every coach is hoping for. We're going to enjoy all we accomplished this year and we're really proud of a tough, gritty group."

Santa Clara used its brutal nonconference schedule to grow as a team and play its best soccer at the end of the year. Before falling at No. 5 Georgetown in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, the Broncos had won seven matches in a row and nine of 10. During their winning streak, they outscored opponents 14-2 and finished the tournament with a 7-1 goal differential.

The biggest win of the streak and the season came in the second round of the NCAA Tournament when they knocked off No. 2 Stanford, the top overall seed in the tournament, 1-0 in double overtime in Palo Alto. Sophomore goalkeeper Melissa Lowder withstood 31 shots from a potent Cardinal offense that was only shutout one other time during the season. Lowder ended the match with 14 saves, a Santa Clara postseason record for a single game.

Jenna Holtz scored the match-winner, her first of the year, with just 2:06 remaining until penalty kicks. It was also the first win for Santa Clara over Stanford in the NCAA Tournament since 2004. The Broncos had never defeated Stanford at home in the NCAA Tournament. Stanford was unbeaten in its previous 30 home NCAA tournament matches.

"We've had a lot of great wins at Santa Clara but this ranks right up there are one of the best," Smith said after the victory.

The Stanford match was the 16th-straight overtime tilt for Santa Clara without a loss, with 10 coming during the 2016 season. The Broncos are 10-0-6 in those outings.

"You have to credit our players' toughness for our success in overtime the past two years," Smith said. "The streak really shows the character and resiliency of our girls. We're always confident in overtime because we know we're going to be tough."

The Broncos didn't relax after such a big win and reached the NCAA quarterfinals by overpowering NC State, 3-0, in third-round action. Jordan Jesolva scored on a penalty kick in the 21st minute and Julie Vass and Brittany Ambrose added goals in the 80th and 84th minutes, respectively, for insurance.

In the first round, Santa Clara topped Long Beach State 3-0 at Stevens Stadium. Freshman Maddie Gonzalez scored a pair of goals and Jesolva added one. The Broncos have knocked out Long Beach State in the first round the last two years and three of the last four.

The Broncos started the season with a bang when they topped No. 11 USC, 3-2, in overtime and No. 18 Cal, 1-0, in double overtime on the opening weekend. Santa Clara was the only team in the country to take down two teams in the preseason NSCAA poll on the opening week.

Despite the fast start, Santa Clara hit on hard times for the next seven games. The Broncos were 0-4-3 during a four week stretch and struggled to score. They were unable to score multiple goals for 11 straight matches.

After a tie and a loss on the first weekend of conference play, Santa Clara kicked things into gear and went 6-1 in the final seven games of conference action. The Broncos finished in third place in the final WCC standings, three points behind co-champions Pepperdine and BYU and made the deepest posteason run of the three teams.

The strong league play earned six Broncos All-WCC recognition. Gudrun Arnardottir was named Freshman of the Year as well as Second Team All-WCC and Freshman All-WCC.  Jesolva was named First Team All-WCC and Kellie Peay joined Arnardottir on the second team. Lowder and Vass were All-WCC honorable mention and Gonzalez was on the All-Freshman team.

Jesolva was also named First Team All-West Region with Arnardottir being named to the third team.

Santa Clara loses some key players to graduation but one of the Broncos biggest strengths this season was their depth. Smith and his staff are confident that, along with the incoming class, the returners will be able to fill any holes left by the departing seniors.

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