Women's Soccer

Follow him on Twitter! @SCUJerrySmith

Head coach Jerry Smith completed his 36th season at the helm of the Santa Clara women's soccer program in 2022. Although he is most known for the development of his players and teams, Smith is one of just three coaches in NCAA Division I history with more than 500 career wins. He has led the program to 32 NCAA Tournaments, 12 College Cups, including the 2001 and 2020 National Championships, and 13 West Coast Conference titles.

Smith has compiled a record of 534-174-70 (.731), establishing a standard of excellence few can match. With Santa Clara’s 2-1 win at BYU March 13, he reached the 500-win plateau. Smith has coached a total of 47 players who earned All-America nods and 236 who secured all-conference honors. His players have gone on to success after college, with 23 competing on national teams, including 16 on the U.S. National Team.

The 2022 season saw the Broncos make their 32nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning their third consecutive, and 13th overall, West Coast Conference title. The Broncos reached the 10 win plateau for the 35th time in Smith's tenure and for the second time in four seasons, went undefeated in conference play with a 7-0-2 mark. One of the ties was a scoreless draw at BYU. It was the first time the Cougars had been shutout at home since then-No. 1 Stanford accomplished the feat in 2018. It had been a span of 40 matches. Izzy D'Aquila won WCC Offensive Player of the Year with a 19-goal and 43-point season, Annie Karich was the WCC Freshman of the Year, and Jerry Smith was named WCC Coach of the Year for the ninth time. On the first team, the Broncos had D'Aquila, Karich, and Marisa Bubnis. Colby Barnett and Marlee Nicolos were named to the second team with Karich and Farrah Walters being named all-freshman.

Smith led the Broncos to their second consecutive WCC title and College Cup in 2021. The team went 12-1-1 over their final 14 matches, including a home win over No. 20 Stanford and road wins at No. 22 Georgetown and No. 4 Duke in the NCAA Tournament. Santa Clara then played in the College Cup on its home field as Stevens Stadium was the host site. Kelsey Turnbow was a First Team All-American and Alex Loera was named to the second team, the second consecutive All-America nods for both. Turnbow was also a finalist for both the MAC Hermann Trophy and the Honda Award while winning the Mike Gilleran WCC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Turnbow and Loera were also First Team All-West Region with Izzy D'Aquila being named to the second team and Makoto Nezu to the third team. The Broncos also had eight named All-WCC with Loera taking home her third straight Defender of the Year honor.

The 2020 season was the most challenging of Smith's career as the team had to deal with the COVID panademic and didn't play until the spring of 2021. The setbacks were no match as the Broncos went a perfect 6-0 in the West Coast Conference to capture the 11th overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Despite playing just seven matches before the postseason, Santa Clara capped it's magical season with a trip to the College Cup that saw wins over No. 2 North Carolina and No. 1 Florida State to capture the program's second national title. During the year, Alex Loera was a Honda Award finalist and Second Team All-American. Kelsey Turnbow was Third Team All-American as well. Turnbow was named the College Cup Offensive Most Outstanding Player and Loera was the College Cup Defensive Most Outstanding Player. Loera, Turnbow, Izzy D'Aquila, and Julie Doyle were all First Team All-West Region and First Team All-WCC picks with Loera taking home WCC Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row. Sally Menti was the WCC Freshman of the Year and Smith was the co-Coach of the Year. Menti was also Second Team All-WCC and Ellie Glenn and Sofia Jones were honorable mention. Menti and Marisa Bubnis were named All-Freshman.

In 2019, the Broncos went 15-6-2 and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. They topped second-ranked UCLA, giving them a win over the No. 2 team in the country for the second year in a row and third time in the last four years. Alex Loera was named the WCC Defensive Player of the Year and Izzy D'Aquila was the leagues Freshman of the Year. In all, seven players received all-conference honors and four were named All-West Region.

The 2018 season saw Santa Clara post its most wins since 2005 as the Broncos went 17-3-2 and advanced to the 28th NCAA Tournament inprogram history, ultimately making it to the second round. Smith and his assistants were named the West Region Staff of the Year. Kelcie Hedge highlighted the season with a First Team All-America nod and being named WCC Player of the Year while also being named a MAC Hermann semifinalst. Maria Sanchez, Kelsey Turnbow, and Alex Loera were all First Team All-West Region along with Hedge.

The Broncos reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament in 2017, reaching that at least that round in back-to-back years for the first time since going 11 years in a row from 1995-2005. Smith coached five All-WCC honorees, including the Freshman of the Year in Turnbow. Turnbow was also named First Team All-West Region while leading Santa Clara with 13 goals. The Broncos finished the year 15-7-1 and 8-1 in the WCC, finishing one point out of first.

In 2016, the Broncos made a run to the national quarterfinals before falling at No. 5 Georgetown 1-0. During the tournament, Santa Clara took down top-seeded No. 2 Stanford in Palo Alto 1-0 in double overtime.

Santa Clara had two players drafted in the National Women’s Soccer League College Draft on Jan. 17, 2014. Julie Johnston went No. 3 overall to the Chicago Red Stars, while Morgan Marlborough went No. 3 in the second round (No. 12 overall) to FC Kansas City. 

Smith saw seven of his former student-athletes -- Brandi Chastain `91, Marian Dalmy `07, Chioma Igwe `08, Brittany Klein `08, Meagan McCray `09, Leslie Osborne `05 and Aly Wagner `02 -- named to rosters in the inaugural season of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) in 2008. An addition five; Jordan Angeli, Katherine Reynolds, Amanda Poach, Meagan Snell, and Kiki Bosio were drafted in 2009 and Bianca Henninger was selected in 2012.

In 2014 Santa Clara went 14-6-0 overall and 7-2-0 in the WCC, good for second place. Santa Clara finished with an RPI of 49, the third lowest to not the make the tournament. This is the first time in the history of the WCC that the second place team did not make the NCAA Tournament.Eleven times in the history of Santa Clara women's soccer the team had fewer than 14 regular season wins, yet advanced to the NCAA Tournament, including twice to the Final Four.

In 2013 the Broncos went 16-4-2 overall and shared the WCC title, the 10th in program history, with an 8-1-0 mark. Santa Clara made it to the Sweet 16 in the 25th NCAA Tournament in program history. The Broncos tied top-seeded No. 4 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. before failing to advance on penalty kicks. Santa Clara was the second-highest scoring offense in the country during the season, outscoring opponents 62-25.

In 2012 Santa Clara went 12-4-6 overall and finished third in the WCC with a 4-1-3 mark in conference play. The Broncos advanced to the 24th NCAA Tournament in school history and topped Long Beach State 2-1 in the first round before falling to defending national champion No. 1 Stanford 2-1 at Stanford.

The 2011 edition of the Broncos finished with an overall record of 13-2-6, with a 6-1-1 mark in WCC play, which was good for third. One of the two Bronco loses came at the hands of eventual national champion Stanford by a score of 2-0. In the NCAA tournament, Santa Clara hosted Cal and tied the game 1-1 but failed to advance when Cal won the penalty kicks 4-3. Santa Clara had two All-Americans: First-Team member Julie Johnston and Third-Team member Bianca Henninger. There were also seven players named to the WCC Postseason All-Conference teams including three First-Team selections, two Second-Team, an honorable mention and one All-Freshman selection.

His 2010 team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after completing the regular season with a second-place WCC finish and a 12-6-2 record.  The Broncos defeated Long Beach State, 1-0, in the first round and fell, 2-1, to College Cup participant Stanford.  Santa Clara had 10 players selected for All-WCC awards, highlighted by the program's second consecutive and eighth overall Freshman of the Year, Julie Johnston.  Two players, Anessa Patton and Bianca Henninger, were selected to the All-WCC First Team, while four others earned second-team honors and four were honorable mention.

His 2009 season returned Santa Clara into the national spotlight, finishing 5-2-0 within the WCC and advancing into the third round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The Broncos defeated three ranked teams in 2009, with wins over No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 7 Purdue and No. 23 Colorado.

In 2007, Smith coached eight athletes - Kiki Bosio, Tina Estrada, Maxine Goynes, Chioma Igwe, Brittany Klein, Kendra Perry, Katherine Reynolds and Meagan Snell - to All-West Coast Conference honors. Both Bosio and Klein were named to the NSCAA/adidas All-West Region second and third team, respectively. Bosio, Klein, Reynolds, Goynes and Perry also earned Soccer Buzz All-West Region accolades. The Broncos finished the season with their 19 straight NCAA Tournament appearance, bowing out in the first round to the Golden Bears of Cal, 2-0. Santa Clara compiled a 12-6-3 overall record and went 4-3-0 in WCC action. SCU's season was highlighted by an early 7-1 rout of then-No. 2 Notre Dame in the first round of the 2007 Santa Clara adidas Classic.

The 2006 season saw Smith and his Broncos reap the benefits of a strong regular season, winning the program's ninth WCC title with a 5-1-1 league record. Smith was named WCC Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his career, while senior defender Marian Dalmy became the seventh WCC Player of the Year in team history. Smith also boasted nine All-WCC selections from his squad.

In 2005, Smith's Broncos posted a 17-5-2 mark which included wins over such ranked programs as California, Cal Poly, Boston College and a dramatic 2-1 victory over then-No.1 Notre Dame on September 9 at Buck Shaw Stadium. SCU also reached the NCAA quarterfinals for the 11th-straight season, continuing the nation's longest such streak.

On Sept. 23, 2005, Smith reached a career milestone that only two Division I head coaches before him had attained. With SCU's 2-1 win over St. Louis that night, Smith became the third member of the 300-Win Club, joining North Carolina's Anson Dorrance and Connecticut's Len Tsantiris in the elite club.

Smith's success culminated in 2001, as he was named the National Coach of the Year after bringing home the University's first outright NCAA championship.

The Broncos ended that season on the highest note, going 6-0 in the postseason and winning the College Cup by defeating perennial power North Carolina 1-0. The team finished its season with a 23-2-0 mark, defeating 10 nationally-ranked opponents and ending the undefeated seasons of five squads. The Broncos led the nation in scoring offense and captured their sixth West Coast Conference title. Smith accomplished this feat with more newcomers on his roster than returning letterwinners, receiving solid leadership from four-time All-American Danielle Slaton and Honda Player of the Year Aly Wagner.

The Broncos defended their 2001 title in the following year's championship, up until the second overtime of the title contest, where the Broncos ceded the national crown to a league rival. Santa Clara topped North Carolina for the second consecutive year in the semifinal to reach the title contest. Smith has led SCU to 10 College Cup appearances, the second most of any collegiate program in the 26-year history of the Tournament.

Smith guided his 1999 team to its fourth straight NCAA national semifinal appearance, second consecutive WCC title, with a perfect 7-0-0 league mark, and best record with a 23-1-0 mark. It was the winningest season in the history of Santa Clara women's soccer as well as the first perfect regular season--undefeated and untied. The Broncos were ranked No. 1 the entire season (the team's highest since 1990) and finished the year ranked second. They also established a new school and league mark for goals scored in a single season, producing 108 in 24 games, becoming just the 15th team in NCAA history to surpass the century mark in goals scored in a single season.

For Smith, success is magnified by the accolades his athletes achieve. That season, a record 13 players earned All-WCC honors, including Player of the Year Mandy Clemens, Defensive Player of the Year Nikki Serlenga and Freshman of the Year Aly Wagner, and five were recognized as best in the nation, earning NSCAA/adidas All-America honors. Smith's peers voted him the WCC's Co-Coach of the Year.

In 1998, Smith led the Broncos to their sixth NCAA semifinal appearance while guiding Santa Clara to a then school-record 22 victories. In all, Smith's squad would establish a new NCAA record, posting 16 consecutive shutouts en route to the tournament. The Broncos finished the regular season ranked second in the nation. In 1997, Smith earned his third WCC Coach of the Year award while leading the Broncos to the school's fifth NCAA semifinal appearance in the last nine years. The team finished with 20 victories, including five against teams ranked in the top 25, en route to a 20-3-1 record and the school's first WCC crown since the 1993 season.

In 1996, Santa Clara advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the fourth time, winning more postseason contests (three) than any previous team in school history, and finishing with an 18-4-2 record. Santa Clara earned a No. 2 national ranking midway through the campaign, the highest ranking for the Broncos since 1993, after they beat top-ranked Notre Dame, 3-1.

In 1995, Smith earned his second WCC Coach of the Year honor as the squad recorded a 16-4-2 record, reached the NCAA Tournament for the seventh consecutive year and became the first Bronco team to win two postseason games in reaching the national quarterfinals. The performance was even more remarkable following first-round playoff losses in 1993 and `94, and the absence of red-shirting All-American Jennifer Lalor. The Broncos also earned their first outright WCC title since 1993, allowing no goals during league play.

Smith elevated the Broncos to national prominence in 1989, as Santa Clara made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. After receiving a first-round bye, Santa Clara captured the NCAA West Regional title and a berth in the national semifinal game. The campaign kicked off a string of three national semifinal appearances in four years, as Santa Clara was one of the NCAA Tournament's final four teams in 1990 and `92. The 1990 campaign was one of Smith's most rewarding as a coach, as Santa Clara earned the nation's No. 1 ranking, finishing 18-1-1 behind ISAA National Player of the Year Brandi Chastain.

Smith has also earned recognition on national and international levels. In March 2000, he was named the U.S. Under-21 National Team coach, a position he resigned in August 2002, after capturing the 2001 Nordic Cup and successfully defending the championship a year later. He has also served on the FIFA Technical Report Team and was the Site Coordinator for Brazil during World Cup 1994. He was also the West Region head coach for the Olympic Development Program.

Smith began his coaching career at his alma mater, Homestead High School in Sunnyvale, Calif., where his boys' teams compiled a 69-29-12 record in seven seasons, including two consecutive league championships. Along with his head coaching responsibilities at Homestead, Smith also served as the assistant coach for Foothill College's men's team from 1982-86 in Los Altos Hills, Calif. He also had a one-year stint as Foothill's head women's coach in 1986. After obtaining his A.S. degree from Foothill in 1981, Smith earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Cal State Hayward in 1986.

Smith resides in San Jose with his wife and former U.S. National Team member Brandi Chastain. His mother, Azucena Medina, lives with the couple and their son, Jaden Chastain Smith, born in June 2006. His oldest son, Cameron Smith, 34, graduated from Santa Clara and Santa Clara law, now works for the University.  He and his wife Elizabeth (Moul) Smith have three children, Josephine 4, Mary 2, and Dominic 1.