Cal Women's Soccer falls to Santa Clara in the NCAA Tournament
Double Overtime was needed for this thriller
Admittedly this is probably the most conflicted piece I’ve ever written considering I actually attend Santa Clara and write for a Cal site, but here goes nothing. Check out Ruey’s great preview of Cal vs Santa Clara.
In an afternoon matinee showdown, the California Golden Bears women’s soccer team took their talents down to the south bay to take on the Santa Clara Broncos, the WCC champions in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Bears had defeated the Broncos by a score of 1-0 all the way back on September 11th courtesy of Anysa Gray, but it’s safe to say both teams have come a long way since then.
Cal continued to develop, as Keely Roy and Karlie Lema solidified the attack while Ayo Oke among others starting to really hold down the backline in a stacked Pac 12 conference. Santa Clara got healthier and more mature, with midfielder Lucy Mitchell returning after a month with injury to offset the Broncos already thin midfield who had preseason all WCC midfielder Sally Menti out for the year with an ACL and goalie Marlee Nicolos fully back after only playing 45 minutes against the Bears the first time due to ACL load management.
The Pac 12 is one of the tougher conferences in the nation, just about on par with the ACC so the Bears were battle tested and it served them well in the early goings of the contest. Santa Clara was likewise battle tested, scratching and clawing from a 2-6-1 non conference record to go 8-0-2 in conference and win their 3rd straight WCC title and earn the #8 seed in the Notre Dame region and a rematch with the Bears.
Yours truly was in attendance to see this showdown, so here’s the breakdown. Early on, the Bears dominated possession and really controlled the midfield, forcing the Broncos to pass around their backline and when they eventually tried to push up the field, they were met with great rotations from Cal midfielders and defenders. Cal was the bigger team, and coach Neil McGuire looked to use the advantage in his gameplan. Broncos head coach Jerry Smith noted his gameplan was very different for the rematch against the Bears, so it’s quite possible that Santa Clara wanted to wear down the Bears.
Neither team really got going on offense in the first half, with Cal creating two solid chances on corner kicks while Santa Clara had one good chance as they headed into halftime. Goalkeeper Angelina Anderson wasn’t tested, but that would change as the game went on. In the second half, Santa Clara turned on the pressure especially down the left wing with Colby Barnett against Kailee Gifford and early returns suggested the Broncos found a matchup they liked. However, the Bears responded well with passes that came into the box from the wing, with Oke and Noele Bond-Flasza making solid clearances.
The Bears offense couldn’t shake Santa Clara defenders, with all WCC first team defender Marisa Bubnis and Makoto Nezu making life very difficult for Lema. They basically said, make someone else beat us. And it was a successful strategy as players like Mia Fontana and Skylar Briggs had chances to create up the middle with their pace, but couldn’t find anyone to pass off to.
This would result in overtime, as Santa Clara had started to take control of the game possession wise and tactics wise. Unlike the last few weeks, the weather was quite warm at Stevens Stadium, with the sun beating straight down on the field, and essentially testing each team’s conditioning. Furthermore, unlike the September matchup, the Broncos had a distinct home field advantage. Home field may not mean as much in women’s soccer as it does in other sports, but it was noticeable for the rematch. Unlike the September matchup, Santa Clara had several hundred students in attendance (school didn’t start for another week during the first matchup), so as Cal got more worn down, Santa Clara tapped into another gear that wasn’t present the first time.
In overtime, it was all Broncos. In the first half of overtime, Santa Clara created several chances via Barnett on the perimeter and Izzy D’Aquila (who was tied for the 2nd most goals in the nation entering the game) was on the verge of breaking one in. The Bears were worn down, the movement wasn’t as crisp, and Jerry Smith’s redone gameplan had come to fruition. And in the 2nd overtime, is where all hell broke loose. With just under half a minute left in double overtime, Keren Goor found herself in a 1 on 1 with Bond-Flasza and flew in a pass that would end the Bears season. The aforementioned D’Aquila rose what felt like a thousand set of stairs over Oke, Sydney Collins, and a late charging Anderson to head it into the back of the net and end the Bears season. Take a look for yourself, what a goal from D’Aquila and what a tough way for Cal’s season to end.
*no commentary on that link, for the video with commentary go here
The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat all summed up in one play. I went insane, Santa Clara went insane and Cal felt what must’ve been a million emotions all at once. It took 110 minutes for this war to have a winner, and it went down to the very last second. The Bears will finish with a record of 10-5-6 and a first round exit, not necessarily indicative of all they accomplished this season but that’s just how sports are sometimes.
No conflict here; my daughter is a recent SCU Soccer alum so even though I bleed Blue and Gold, I was rootin' Broncos all the way. That was a helluva game.....
Could it be a stretch to compare the Pac12 to the ACC? Seems there's stronger talent further down the standings in the ACC with FSU, UNC, Duke, FSU, UVA and FSU over the past few years.