Long Beach State has made the tourney 3 years in a row, and for the 2nd time faced Santa Clara in round 1. The beginning of the game was reminiscent of 2010, with LBSU out-hustling the Broncos to the ball. They had the ball in front of the Santa Clara goal but couldn't put together the final pass on a give-and-go that would enable them to make a dangerous shot. Santa Clara broke thru about 20 minutes in when Huerta centered the ball to Shim, who was unmarked in the center of the field about 30 yards from goal. Shim took a touch to get the ball where she wanted and then ripped a low, hard shot just inside the far post for 1 - 0. 20 minutes later Johnston picked a defender clean and proceeded towards goal from 25 yards out. As two other defenders moved to close her down, Johnston saw Matheson making a run parallel to the back line near the penalty spot. Johnston deftly laid it off and Matheson finished cleanly for 2 - 0. Santa Clara continued to press their advantage in the 2nd half. A Shim pass sent Spiedel thru for a 1v1 but the shot hit the keeper. Rice and Vernon lead a good defensive effort and Vernon even got forward to put a header on goal off a corner. Tostanowski didn't have to make any great saves, but she did make a nice catch of a cross under pressure in the 1st half and a good punch-out in the 2nd. 70 minutes in the Broncos committed a silly foul near the side line some 40 yards from goal. The 49ers put the kick in front of the goal, and one of their players appeared to have donned an invisibility cloak making her invisible to only Santa Clara defenders, as she was completely unmarked when she headed the 49ers onto the board for 2 - 1. The Broncos abandoned their offense shortly thereafter but LBSU couldn't mount anything significant, and we face Stanford on Friday, for I think the 4th time in five years. 4th times the charm,right?
Disappointing to end the season as it began, with a loss to Stanford. Still, the players gave a good account of themselves and can be proud of the way they battled to the end. Jerry switched up the line-up to start the game, with Birgel getting the start in the defensive middle to add a little height and perhaps win a few headers. No problem with that, but it had the consequence of putting honorable mention all leagurer Matheson on the bench, and it seems that a further glance at the rest of the line-up might have revealed a starting spot that would have benefited from Matheson's skill and experience. But whatever virtue that Jerry sees in certain players appears to blind him to what someone else could bring. Santa Clara had an excellent chance in the first when Weatherholt whipped in a bullet shot that appeared to be going in far post but Oliver made a full extension save to deny the effort. Other than that, the 1st half was pretty even. Stanford drew 1st blood about 15 minutes in the 2nd half. The ball was played towards the Santa Clara end-line with Ubogagu in pursuit but a defender between her and the ball. The defender was trying to shield the ball over the end line, but the ball didn't have the pace, and the defender probably should have just played it outside for a throw-in. Instead, Ubogagu got around her, took the ball and dribbled down the end-line towards the goal. Defenders collapsed towards the threat and Ubogagu laid it off to Verloo, unmarked at the 6, for a one-touch shot into the back netting. 9 minutes later Stanford was at it again. Verloo collected the ball about 10 yards from the area and took it straight towards goal. Nobody stepped up to stop her and she launched a shot from the top of the 18 that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced in. Jerry described the shot as unstoppable, which it was once she hit it. The key there would have been to confront her before she got the shot off, and that didn't happen. Huerta hit a couple of absolute rockets on frame in the 2nd half, but Oliver was positioned well to make the stops. Tostanowski came up huge a couple of times and kept Santa Clara in the game. Santa Clara got one back when Matheson!, who finally subbed in shortly before the 2nd goal, got off a nice cross that Weatherholt headed home with 15 minutes remaining. It was a battle from then on, with Johnston and Shim really scrapping in the midfield, but the Broncos couldn't find the equalizer and Stanford moved on to face Denver. It was for Santa Clara a far superior effort than the opener, when the defense folded in the 2nd half. Here Santa Clara gave everything they had the entire game, but it wasn't quite enough.
Julie Johnston is selected as U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of 2012 http://www.ussoccer.com/News/Articles/2012/12/Morgan-Wins-2012-Female-AOTY-Award.aspx
I just noticed Santa Clara's spring schedule on their website. I wonder how long that has been there? Date Opponent Site Time Thurs., April 4 Cal Santa Clara 7:00 p.m. Thurs., April 11 San Jose State Santa Clara 8:00 p.m. Sun., April 14 Storm Santa Clara 11:00 a.m. Sat., April 20 Cal San Ramon* 4:00 p.m. Thurs., April 25 Stanford Stanford 7:00 p.m. *Game played in San Ramon as a part of a community fundraiser. All five were at SCU last year so this year's schedule is a little bit of a change. We really enjoyed last year's spring season in spite of the cold. All the games were free and Santa Clara won all 5. We have high hopes for this year.
Time for a 2013 thread. I'm an alum and fan and occasionally pop in here, but the thread should be started by one of the regulars.
It might have to be the goat. I'm not a Bronco alum, just a Santa Clara resident with a severe soccer obsession. I have a long time casual affiliation with one department at SCU, but I would rather see a real alum do it. However, if somebody wants to tell me how, I'll take it on...
Already done. Have a great season. https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/santa-clara-women-2013.1982671/#post-27245051
Being a Santa Clara resident with a severe soccer obsession means you can attend the games and totally qualifies you to be a Very Frequent Poster here. Your posts help me experience, at least a little bit, what I'm otherwise missing. Who is the goalie? Anybody we know?
Not unless you know some u12 goalies.. : ) My daughter played goalie quite a bit in her first couple years of soccer but now would rather be a field player. She enjoys occasionally subbing in goal, though. I'll have to remember to post some highlights from spring season. We managed to make it to every game last spring and are hoping to do the same this year, even with the two away games.