Santa Clara women’s soccer (7-2-7, 3-0-3) faced off against Saint Mary’s College (9-2-5, 3-2-1 WCC) at Stevens Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 24, sporting pink socks for the Broncos Care: Kick Out Cancer Match.
The Broncos got right to work in the WCC clash, taking the lead in the fourth minute, thanks to a goal from Kennedy Schoennauer ’27, with Tessa Ferguson ’28 credited with the assist.
The early goal marked Schoennauer’s 13th of the year, placing her tied for 11th in the nation and continuing her impressive senior campaign.
Before Bronco fans in attendance could even sit back down, the lead had vanished, as Saint Mary’s brought the game to one apiece just 25 seconds after Schoennauer’s goal.
Both teams settled down after the two early strikes, exchanging possessions with neither team taking control.
In the 15th minute, defender Izzy Debuyl ’28 headed a ball just wide off a spectacular corner from Adee Goulden ’29.
Saint Mary’s came close to breaking the tie late in the first half, after a ball crossed into the box, leaving Brooke Fairbanks alone with goalkeeper Ally Harrison ’29. Harrison made an excellent save on a shot headed to the bottom-left corner, then repositioned to make another rebound save to keep the game deadlocked 1-1 after one half.
Similar to the first half, the second half began with action.
Bronco Jacey Martinez ’27 took a hard foul just 14 seconds into the second half and stayed down. The referee awarded Saint Mary’s a yellow card, but after review it was overturned to a red card. Martinez was able to walk off the field on her own strength as the Broncos would be a player up for almost the entire second half.
The matchup was scrappy and hard-fought throughout, with the teams combining for 15 fouls.
Up a player, Santa Clara dominated possession, but were unable to capitalize on their chances. They outshot the Gaels 20-2 in the second half and had eight corners.
Schoennauer, known for her ability to get shots off at volume, attempted 10, keeping her at second in the country in shot attempts per game at 5.69 and had multiple chances denied by SMC goalkeeper Kate Plachy. Plachy finished the game with eight saves, keeping her team in it despite the red card.
“A great goalkeeper can make a big difference,” said Bronco head coach Jerry Smith on Plachy’s impressive showing.
The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with the only goals scored coming in the first five minutes. The Broncos will still take home 1 point, keeping themselves third in the WCC standings.
Santa Clara women’s soccer has historically dominated Saint Mary’s, entering the matchup unbeaten in the last 25. The tie extends the streak to 26 matches, but with the red card and time of possession, the Broncos will likely feel they left points on the table.
“The tie today sure felt like a loss,” Coach Smith said.
Santa Clara women’s soccer now heads to Malibu to face WCC top seed Pepperdine (9-4-2, 5-1 WCC) on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
Coach Smith called it “a big, important match,” stressing that the team should not wallow in the disappointing result. “There’ll be zero conversation about Saint Mary’s going forward; it’ll all be about how we get ready for Pepperdine,” finished Smith.