Soccer looks to improve as spring season begins

By Cecile Nguyen

No longer is Stanton Field closed for rainy days.

When the women's soccer team played on the new turf for the first time, they were excited to find that areas of the field were no longer inconsistent.

"I really like the new turf," redshirt senior Jordan Angeli said. "The old grass field was unpredictable; we didn't know if it was going to be soft or hard, but with the turf, it's always going to be nice."

The Broncos are hoping that the new practice facilities will help them during their spring season, as they are preparing to rebuild the program and rebound from a difficult fall season that included an early exit from the NCAA tournament.

"With the synthetic turf, we don't have to worry about tearing up the field," said Head Coach Jerry Smith. "It's absolutely wonderful playing out there on a nice field every single day, something we've never had at Santa Clara with grass."

Santa Clara is scheduled to play five matches this spring season, including their final game versus Stanford.

The Broncos defeated the Sacramento Storm, a women's semi-pro team, last weekend in the first match of the spring season.

"It was a very fun game to play, and winning 2-0 is a good start for us," Smith said.

Angeli, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament last spring, played in her first game in over a year.

The forward was expected to play 30 minutes in the game, but was limited to seven minutes after she re-aggravated her injury, Smith said.

"I'm trying to get back into game shape and get a few games under my belt before the fall," Angeli said. "It's exciting, and it feels good to get out there and play after almost a year."

One of the story lines this past fall season for the Broncos was injuries. Before the fall season had even started, Santa Clara already had four players out for the entire year.

"We had an already small roster, got banged up and couldn't get better," Smith said. "We were better at the beginning of the year than at the end, and that's never happened before in my 21 years at Santa Clara."

Despite the early setbacks, Santa Clara started the season on a tear, going 7-0-1 in their first eight games, including a 7-1 rout over Notre Dame. But more injuries and an already shortened bench got the better of the Broncos.

"Soccer doesn't go your way sometimes, and it was unfortunate, the number of injuries we had, but we're willing to put in the work to bring this team and this program back where it's supposed to be," said Angeli.

Santa Clara can expect some immediate help with the addition of six newly signed recruits who will be joining the team this fall, including highly touted Archbishop Mitty High School goalkeeper Bianca Henninger.

"All six players coming in will be wonderful additions to the team," Smith said. "Bianca is going to be named to Parade Magazine's High School All-Americans and Goalkeeper of the Year, meaning she's the best goalie in the country. It's quite an honor."

The Broncos expect to drastically improve on a disappointing season last fall and are aiming to return to the Final Four.

Smith said that if there is one positive thing he will take away from a disappointing fall campaign, it's to never take anything for granted, especially the health of his team.

"We're going to have a renewed focus next year, get into the NCAA tournament and make our 11th trip to the Final Four," Smith said. "We will not take anything for granted next year."

Contact Cecile Nguyen at (408) 551-1918 or cnguyen5@scu.edu.