Nov. 18, 2001
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Freshman forward Leslie Osborne scored a goal and an assist to lead Santa Clara University to a 4-1 victory over Syracuse in the second round of the 2001 NCAA Women's Soccer Championships, held this afternoon at the Soccer & Track Stadium on the University of Illinois campus.
The Broncos--the tournament's second overall seed--will host Dartmouth in the third round of the NCAA Championship on Saturday, November 24. The contest will begin at 1 p.m. at Buck Shaw Stadium. It will be the first meeting between the schools. The Big Green, 11-4-1 on the season, were to have faced Santa Clara at the Stanford Invitational in mid-September, but declined to participate due to travel restrictions after the September 11 tragedies. Dartmouth has topped Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Michigan to advance to the third round.
Osborne scored her 12th goal of the season off a pass by senior midfielder Kerry Cathcart in the 47th minute. The Bronco score marked the first goal allowed by Syracuse keeper Shannon Myers in 341:18 minutes.
The Broncos scored a second goal in the 59th minute when junior midfielder Aly Wagner converted a penalty kick. The play began with Wagner taking a corner kick on the left side. Osborne went for her serve and was taken down by Syracuse's Candy Reich just to the right of the far post.
Just four minutes later, the Broncos scored again. Senior defender Danielle Slaton served a corner kick from the far side, past the goal. Osborne headed the ball to the front of the goal box to teammate Devvyn Hawkins, a junior midfielder, who headed the ball for fourth goal of the season.
The Broncos capped their scoring when sophomore forward Kristi Candau scored her third goal of the tournament, taking a pass from freshman defender Jessica Ballweg, who was in the corner. Candau deflected the pass into the net, taking the keeper on the near side.
The teams played a scoreless first half in which Santa Clara outshot the Orangewomen 11-1. Syracuse's sole shot of the period came off a corner kick in the 23rd minute that sailed high. Syracuse's second and final shot of the match was converted to a goal in the 83rd minute off a free kick that was crossed to Erin Parsons for the score. The Broncos finished with a 23-2 shot advantage.
The Broncos, ranked second in the country, improved to 19-2 in their 13th straight NCAA postseason appearance. Syracuse's season ends at 12-7.
The quarterfinals will be played November 30-December 2. The 2001 Women's College Cup will be held December 7 and 9 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
