They are at it again in the NCAA 3rd round facing Arkansas on Wednesday. SCU dismantled Ohio State 4-1 in the second round. A well kept secret with absolutely no coverage in the SF CHronicle or Mercury News after beating OSU. GO BRONCOS!!!
The excellence continues, perennial top 20 program.
NCAA Third-Round Matchup With Arkansas Set for Women’s Soccer - Santa Clara (santaclarabroncos.com)
This snippet from the article is impressive:
The Broncos are making their fourth trip to the third round in the last five seasons, and they are one of just seven teams to accomplish the feat and the only non-Power 5 program.
This season the Broncos were the overall #11 see and along with Rice are the only non-Power Conf schools to make the Round of 16.
Good luck to our Broncos tonight vs. overall 6th seed Arkansas.
Ladies advance to the round of 8 with a 2-0 shutout over 6th seed Arkansas. Play the overall 14 seed Clemson on Sunday.
Hopefully they can get by Clemson, they seem to be playing great in the post season!
If they make it past Clemson, I think they would play #1 Florida State. I have a few friends in the Tampa/St Pete area that are diehard Seminole fans…a little angst from Santa Clara would do wonders for their humility. Santa Clara lost only to BYU, who would have been in also, if the tournament had not been pared down. Sent two daughters to the Bronco soccer camps in the summer. The dividends just keep rolling in…
Website is somewhat confusing but it looks like the bracket has us playing potentially UNC or T A&M.
Also I think BYU was in the tourney, lost to Virginia.
I’m always confused…then hope the Broncs play FSU in the final. Mainly trying to tamp down the unbridled home townerism of my FSU friends.
The ACC got five teams into the tourney and has five teams remaining in the Elite Eight–really a wild level of post-season success. Of course only three at most can advance to the Final Four after Clemson goes down
BYU did make the tournament, but lost in the first round of 48 to Virginia who made it through to the Elite 8
#14 Clemson is no slouch. They’re a formidable opponent both offensively 25 goals (1.5 per game and defensively with 6 shutouts. Their record over 17 games which commenced in the fall 2020 thru the tournament 13-4 with the last two ending in PK’s over Rutgers and UCLA. Their 4 losses all came at the hands of highly seeded:
#1 Florida State 0-2
#2 North Carolina 0-2
#9 Duke 0-1 & 0-1
If any of you caught the Clemson/UCLA game, their goalie was outstanding making several huge saves and over the bar deflections. Plus, she’s a giant at 6’3" and very mobile…
Our Broncos have been playing well, but an “A” game performance will be needed to advance to the college cup!!!
Just in final SCU 1 Clemson 0…wtg!
Great win and in the final four so should be on ESPN net week. Only non ACC school left. Don’t count out the Broncos!!!
Yes, ESPN2 Thursday… Start yet to be announced
NCAA site has 5:30 PDT vs Carolina, an old nemesis. They did beat North Carolina the last time (2004) they made it to the College Cup.
I’m gonna try to watch with a Tarheel friend. What a run for the Broncos–I really hope this one continues. A trip to the College Cup will do wonders for already-solid recruiting and will be an important show of momentum for when Smith steps down in the near future.
You just gotta love Santa Clara Women’s Soccer and what Jerry has done with the program since it puts our school name out there on a national level… Personally, don’t feel the powers to be, i.e. Trustees and Administration realize what the program’s success has meant to the university PR-wise on a national basis. Jerry’s simply irreplaceable!!! Let’s pray they extend his contract for another 10 yrs…
# NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament: Santa Clara crashes ACC party
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Today
Santa Clara is headed to the Women’s College Cup first time since 2004 thanks to a 1-0 win over Clemson that denied the ACC a clean sweep of Sunday’s four quarterfinal matches.
The Broncos were one of women’s soccer’s first national powerhouses, making the final four 10 times over 16 seasons in 1989-2004 and winning a national championship in 2001. They have reached the final 16 five times in the last eight seasons but this is just the second time they reached the final eight.
The game’s only was scored by Sally Menti , the WCC Freshman of the Year, in the 19th minute.
May 9 in Cary, N.C.
Santa Clara 1 Clemson 0. Goal: Menti 19.
Santa Clara – Nicolos, White, Bubnis, Nezu, Reeves, Goor, Loera, D’Aquila, Turnbow, Doyle, Menti. Substitutes: Glenn, Halvorsen, Smith.
Clemson – Hancuff, Makenna Morris, Moehler, White, Dawson, Haley, Guion, Maliah Morris, Conti, Bornkamp, Meredith.
Substitutes: Dudley, Hanks.
Att.: 118.
Top-seeded Florida State survived a shootout against ACC rival Duke to reach the College Cup for the 11th time.
The Seminoles won, 5-3, on penalty kicks after their match ended 0-0. They entered the game with a 13-0-0 record with 11 wins en route to the ACC championship in the fall and two wins the NCAA Tournament.
“I thought Duke had a wonderful game plan and their kids executed it to perfection,” said Florida State coach Mark Krikorian . “It was clear that they were trying to minimize our opportunities at goal and they did a really good job at that. I thought our kids stayed disciplined throughout without giving much at our goal.”
Florida State had 74 percent of the possession and a 14-2 edge in shots, limiting Duke to only two shots, both off target, in the first seven minutes of the game.
“It’s been quite a year,” said Duke coach Robbie Church . “There has never been a year like this. That’s obviously been documented so many ways, but starting here in July and ending on May 9, and ending on penalty kicks to the No. 1 team – one of the best teams that’s ever been in this conference – the girls just gave everything.”
May 9 in Cary, N.C.
Florida State 0 Duke 0 (Florida State wins 5-3 on penalties).
Florida State – Roque, Carle, Madril, Howell, Flynn, Pavlisko, Payne, Nesbeth, Robbins, Lynch, McFarland. Substitutes: Nighswonger, Iwai, Brown, Mitchell, Zhao.
Duke – R.Jones, Mitchell Cosme, Royson, Graham, Gyau, Groff, Graham, S.Jones, Boade, Pluck. Substitutes: Migli, McGuire, Duerr, Simmons, Nabet.
Att.: 164.
North Carolina advanced to its 30th College Cup in 39 seasons with a 1-0 win over Texas A&M on substitute Rachel Dorwart 's goal on a breakaway late in the first half.
Carolina is 18-1-0 overall – its only loss came in the 2020 ACC Tournament final to Florida – and has now won all seven contests it played in the spring.
Tar Heel keeper Claudia Dickey recorded her seventh straight shutout and 15th of the season, which leads the country.
May 9 in Cary, N.C.
North Carolina 1 Texas A&M 0. Goal: Dorwart 43.
North Carolina – Dickey, Allen, Tolentino, Meza, Pinto, Jones, Dellaperuta, Cox, Patterson, Gambone, Moore. Substitutes:
Grant, Dorwart, Strickland, Hansen, Bell, Klanke, Quinlan.
Texas A&M – Caldwell, K.Smith, Sample, Dumond, Pounds, Olivieri, Kolb, Bates, Ziemer, Carroll, Geczik. Substitutes: Colvin, Russell, J.Smith.
Att.: 164.
Virginia upset Big 12 champion TCU, the No. 4 seed, 1-0, to advance to the College Cup for the fourth time.
Defender Lizzy Sieracki scored her first goal of the season with a header off a corner kick by Lia Godfrey to put the Cavaliers ahead in the 60th minute. TCU’s best chance later in the second half when Yazmeen Ryan rattled the crossbar with a shot that bounced down on the goal line. The Horned Frogs argued unsuccessfully that the ball had crossed the line.
The Cavs join Florida State and North Carolina to give the ACC three teams in the semifinals for the third time, matching the total from 2011 and 2013.
Virginia will face Florida State in the semifinals on Thursday in Cary. North Carolina and Santa Clara will play in the other game at WakeMed Soccer Park.
May 9 in Cary, N.C.
Virginia 1 TCU 0. Goal: Sieracki 60.
Virginia – Ivory, Sieracki, Constant, Guidry, Staude, Torres, Godfrey, Jarrett, Dawson, Spaanstra, Ordonez. Substitutes: Serepca, Clark, Jablonowski, Rouse, Theoret.
TCU – Alvarado, Hubbard, Akins, Duricek, Slater, Ryan, Crew, Peterson, Brian, Collins, Bright. Substitutes: Hasler, Warren.
Att.: 178.
I respectfully disagree. Don’t get me wrong, what Jerry has accomplished without question puts him in a select group in Santa Clara Athletics history. He was absolutely a trailblazer for women’s college soccer, and he is indeed likely irreplaceable.
But let’s not kid ourselves that women’s soccer (or any other sport other than football, and men’s and women’s basketball) can influence the university’s standing on a national basis. Heck, I bet half the county didn’t know Santa Clara existed until yesterday when news broke that Fr. O’Brien resigned b/c he was [insert rumor here] in the presences of Jesuit graduate students.
Want national recognition…have a scandal (Michigan, San Jose State) or get in the NCAA tournament (or have . Full stop. That is exactly how Gonzaga got itself out of certain financial death, how we know that there is a Loyola in Chicago with a 100 year old nun, some cool school with an old gym in Indiana called Butler, Florida Gulf Coast and the list goes on.
Spot on Weave… it’s great that the Womens soccer team has made it to their final four and wish them the best of luck in winning it all. Still, no matter how successful they are it translates to very little in terms of recognition or revenue for SCU. That’s not to dismiss their achievements, just to digest what it really means outside of their small circle for the school.
For SCU it’s all about MBB. If we can’t achieve success there then ultimately the external rewards from athletic achievement won’t benefit the university.
You must live on the Left Coast, think only about men’s basketball and don’t realize how the rest of the country has come to know Santa Clara