One-on-one with Bree Horvath

Midway through her junior season with the women's soccer team, Bree Horvath has been a mainstay at the forward position, despite missing seven games due to a leg muscle injury. In the nine games she's started, Horvath has four goals and three assists, including a hat trick against San Jose State on Aug. 31. The third-year striker took some time out Wednesday to chat with Sports Editor Brian Betz about everything from the team's freshmen, Head Coach Jerry Smith, and of course, the 2001 National Championship.

BB: Your team hasn't rendered a loss since Sep. 26. Do you feel like you're starting to hit your peak?

BH: I think so. We're starting to come together. We've been figuring out how to play with each other.

BB: What can you say about the freshmen?

BH: All of them have brought so much to the team. They all have different talents.

BB: Can you give me some examples?

BH: Like Lauren Zealear. She's the hardest worker. Just watching her work hard makes everyone else want to work hard. And then Marian [Dalmy] is just so talented. Her shots are amazing.

BB: What do you think has been the biggest reason why you've outscored teams 12-1 in your first three WCC matches thus far?

BH: Well, we have different goals for different phases and the WCC is one of those phases. One of which is to be the highest in scoring, lead the league in shutouts. We've been talking about it, working toward it in practice and now we're just putting it into the games.

BB: So are those two goals the biggest ones?

BH: Well they're some of them. We'll have others like 'make 25 percent of your shots a game.' Jerry [Smith] always promises that if we reach our goals that he'll do something crazy to himself at the end of the season. But we get to make it up.

BB: Has that ever happened?

BH: Oh yeah, freshman year we got our goals and he dyed his hair jet blonde. And he got an earring. Last year we got him so he got a mohawk and dyed it red.

BB: What's it going to be this year?

BH: I don't know, we haven't decided. You can't get much crazier than those things. I mean it can't be obnoxious. We're thinking about it but we have to get our goals first.

BB: Knowing that it's almost a foregone conclusion that you'll be in the NCAA Tournament, do you think the team at all de-emphasizes the regular season and worries more about being ready for the postseason?

BH: Well, kind of. At the beginning of the season our coach doesn't really care how much we win or lose. He cares about the league and us coming together. Rankings at the beginning of the year, he said, really don't matter. But rankings at the end of the year determine whether you have to travel and if you'll even get into the tournament. So there's definitely a lot more emphasis on winning during the later part of the season than early on.

BB: Do you think the WCC is the most competitive conference for women's soccer?

BH: I think it's up there. We have a lot of top-ranked teams. Portland, Pepperdine, USD, Loyola Marymount. We have a lot of competition.

BB: You started the year out No. 1 in the nation. Do you think that by the time the tourney comes around that you'll be the favorite again going into it, or you'll be more of the underdog?

BH: We're hoping for the underdog role because being the underdog is so much less pressure. Our coach always wants us to play like the underdog. Play harder than everyone else because no one expects you to win.

BB: So you're from Danville. Was Santa Clara the obvious choice for you?

BH: No, not at first. Initially I wanted to go to Cal for a while. I never thought I could actually play soccer here because you hear Santa Clara and you hear they have this amazing soccer team. My sister played here and she was a senior when I was a senior in high school. So when I came for a recruiting trip I stayed with her. And actually, I had Jerry [Smith] as my coach for ODP [Olympic Developmental Program] and knew he was a great coach. But I wanted to play here, I just never thought it would happen.

BB: But you obviously can play here and you're playing well. I'm sure you've heard this question 100 times, so I'll ask it for a 101st time: What was it like to win a national championship?

BH: Ha, ha, amazing. Just being in the Final Four as a freshman was probably the most nerve-racking, scary thing, ever. Nationally televised, and actually getting to play in it was out of control. When we were winning, I was just like 'please let the time go by.' And when we won, I was so exhausted, my legs could not move. But you find the energy to run to your teammates and jump on each other.

BB: OK, so by the time you've graduated, how many national titles will you have?

BH: Oh, geeze. I'm not going to say anything because I don't want to jinx anything. But I would hope to at least have one more.