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USF falls to #15 Santa Clara
Oct. 17, 2004
(San Francisco) - After an evenly played first half, #15 Santa Clara was able to gain the upper hand in the second period and pull out a 1-0 victory over host San Francisco at Negoesco Stadium. The Dons (7-5-3; 1-2-0) have now lost two games in a row, while the Santa Clara Broncos (9-4-3; 2-1-0) are currently enjoying a two game winning streak.
The first half of the game was evenly played as both teams tried to get a better feel for one another. Santa Clara outshot USF 5-4 in the half, and had a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks. For USF, their best scoring opportunity came in the first half, as junior midfielder Stephanie Gray rocketed a shot from 25 feet out. However, Broncos goalkeeper Julie Ryder was able to make the save and quell the USF rush.
For Head Coach Pamela Kalinoski, the first half of the game was a major bright spot. "Through the first 45 minutes, we played Santa Clara really evenly and did some really good things with the ball. We had our chances and it was a shame we could not captalize on them."
In the second half, SCU was clearly the more dominant team as they out shot USF 12-1, and held a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks. The Broncos strong play was rewarded in the games 61st minute as Santa Clara leading scorer Tina Estrada was able to control the ball during a goalmouth scramble and connect on a shot that USF goalkeeper Stephanie Beall had no chance in saving. For Estrada, it was her team leading seventh goal of the season and the assists were credited to Lauren Zealear and Megan Kakadelas.
Despite a concerted effort by the USF offence to push for the game's equalizer, the Santa Clara defense proved to strong, as San Francisco could not generate the necessary offence to tie the game.
"I think the second half for Santa Clara demonstrated to everyone why they are a top 20 team. They played us really well and they deserve the credit," said Kalinoski.
While USF was not able to pick up the win, goalkeeper Stephanie Beall deserves much credit for keeping the Dons in the game. Her seven saves allowed the Dons to stay close and it put them in a position to compete with #15 Santa Clara.
Although USF was handed their second straight WCC loss, there are still five more games in their season, four of which are conferences matches.
San Francisco will have a chance to bounce back this Friday, as they travel to Los Angeles, California to play Loyola Marymount at 4:00 pm.
