Broncos knocked out in first round

By Chris Furnari

Despite receiving one of four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, the women's soccer team failed to advance out of the first round for the first time in twelve years after a 1-0 loss to the Southern California Women of Troy ended their season last Friday.

A goal in the 87th minute by Amy Rodriguez halted the Broncos title hopes and their streak of 11 straight quarterfinal appearances, previously the longest in the nation.

The Broncos finished the season with a 15-5-1 overall record and a West Coast Conference championship title, their ninth in school history, but hopes of making a College Cup appearance were shattered.

"It was a very upsetting result today," said junior Meagan Snell. "USC was very good defensively. I just can't believe it."

After a sluggish first half, where USC outshot the Broncos 4-3, Santa Clara began to dominate the game's flow after halftime. In the 56th minute, freshman Kiki Bosio drew a penalty in the goal box, giving the Broncos their best chance to score.

But on the ensuing penalty kick, senior captain Marian Dalmy slammed the ball into the crossbar, keeping Santa Clara off the scoreboard.

"Jerry (Smith) and I talked about it the day before," the West Coast Conference Player of the Year said. "We thought they might know my tendencies. I still went to my usual side, I just wanted to hit it a little harder, but I think I hit it too hard."

Smith said that Brandi Chastain also missed a penalty kick in her final game, the 1990 semifinal.

The shot off the crossbar gave USC new life, and in the 87th minute, a turnover by senior defender Hilary Schwatzbach led to the game-winnng goal for the Trojans.

Schwatzbach, who transferred from USC this season, tried to clear the ball past the USC attackers with a header, but instead it went straight to USC forward Amy Rodriguez, who had a clear lane to the goal and slammed the ball past Broncos goalkeeper Julie Ryder on the near post.

"I'm disappointed that this team is not going on," said head coach Jerry Smith. "It is a very talented team and I'm disappointed they won't go on and get the chance to go to the Final Four."

Smith said having to face USC in the first round was due to location more than seeding, as the NCAA tries to group teams regionally.

"Our geography here isn't like it is in the East Coast or the northeast where there is a large density of teams," Smith said. "Here, we end up with Pac-10 teams, usually a Cal or Stanford, and this year, USC."

But Smith said the tougher road wasn't an issue.

"We would be concerned with a first-round opponent if our goal was to make the second round, but our goal is to win the national championship," Smith said. "You've got to be able to beat a team like USC on your home field to win the national title."

Smith still remained upbeat about the 2006 season.

"I think the lesson for us today was that you can't control everything," said Smith.

While the loss meant that the team cleaned out their lockers for the season, it meant the end of a career for the team's 10 seniors.

Contact Chris Furnari at (408) 551-1918 or cfurnari@scu.edu.