As a junior in high school, Kennedy Schoennauer ’27 sat watching from the stands at Stevens Stadium as the Broncos played for a chance at the National Championship in 2021. Five years later, she’s leading the way as Santa Clara women’s soccer sits one game away from a return to the NCAA Tournament in what could be her last year as a Bronco.

Schoennauer attended Abraham Lincoln High School in San Jose, just miles from Santa Clara University, and grew up attending Bronco games. She specifically remembers cheering from the stands during big matchups against Stanford, where her dad attended school.

During her high school soccer career at Lincoln, Schoennauer scored 112 goals in her first three seasons and was twice named MVP of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

Brandi Chastain ’91, a Santa Clara and U.S. women’s national team icon—and wife of Santa Clara women’s soccer head coach Jerry Smith—coached her at the Olympic Development Program team at the national level in high school.

“My wife actually coached Kennedy, so she actually was in our home as a youth player. I’ve known Kennedy for a long time,” said Smith.

For Schoennauer, the years working with Chastain left a mark.

“I’ve known Brandi for a while, so it’s been great to be at her​ Alma Mater, learning from someone so talented and knowledgeable,” said Schoennauer.

Chastain holds her former player in similar regard.

“She’s unpredictable, and she just really can change a game in a moment,” Chastain said. “You’re lucky if you’re a coach to have a player like that.”

Everything pointed to Schoennauer starting her collegiate career in her own backyard as a Bronco, with familiar faces around her. Yet, that wouldn’t immediately be the case.

“We almost pulled the trigger on recruiting Kennedy out of high school,” Smith said. “It wasn’t a positional need for us at the time, and so we passed on her.”

Schoennauer found herself in the Pac-12 at the University of Utah, making 16 starts, tying for the team lead in assists and earning Pac-12 All-Freshman honors.

But back at Santa Clara, the roster had opened up, and they were in need of her position: center striker.

“We’re so happy that she was in the transfer portal, and we jumped on it immediately,” said Smith, who admits that he “probably” made “a mistake not recruiting her out of the gate.”

“We are really lucky that Kennedy ended up here,” said Smith. “People forget about this, but for coaches, we have a relationship with each player, and we love when a player increases our quality of life. And Kennedy is one of those kids. I love that kid.”

When Schoennauer first stepped onto campus as a sophomore after transferring from Utah, Smith warned her it would be challenging.

“The one thing he always said on phone calls and when I met with him was that he would be a hard coach, and that wasn’t wrong,” Schoennauer said. “But I think it’s really helped me grow as a player and a person.”

Scoring had always come naturally to Schoennauer. But after her first D1 season, she was left feeling unsure about her skills.

“I’ve always been able to score, especially in high school,” Schoennauer said. “But after my freshman year, I kind of lacked confidence. So when I got here, I had great support around me and great players to just make it a lot easier.”

She made an immediate impact in her first season as a Bronco, leading the team with 11 goals, including two in the season opener against San Jose State. She was named first-team All-West Region and first-team All-WCC.

This season, Schoennauer leads the WCC with a career-high 16 goals, earning her WCC Offensive Player of the Year. Schoennauer tallied another goal in the WCC semifinal win over LMU on Nov. 11, moving her to a tie for 6th in Division I rankings. At a program with Santa Clara’s history, that puts her name in conversations with Bronco greats.

“She reminds me of Jordan Angeli,” Smith said. “Both of them have a little bit of a slow release, so their shots get blocked a lot. But when they don’t get blocked, they have a great chance to score a goal, and Kennedy’s done that better than anyone has in several years here. Probably back to our last Final Four team.”

In August, Smith became the second-winningest coach in Division I women’s soccer history with a 1-0 win over UC Davis. It was his 571st win, in his 40th season at Santa Clara.

“What it means is I’ve been blessed with a lot of good people,” Smith said.

He credited the administrators who support the program, the assistant coaches he’s worked with, and the players and their families, naming former Broncos Julie Ertz ’13, Danielle Slaton ’02, Aly Wagner ’02 and Chastain.

“Second-most all-time NCAA wins means I’m thankful for all the people that have helped our program be successful,” Smith said. “It’s kind of one of those things where coaches are almost embarrassed to recognize their wins, because there’s so many people that are involved in it.”

Schoennauer shares that team-first sentiment with Smith. “My team has done a really good job at supporting me throughout the year, and my coaches have pushed me a lot in the offseason to help me grow and become the best version of myself,” Schoennauer said on winning WCC Offensive Player of the Year.

The star forward scored her 16th goal in just 20 games played, helping the Broncos defeat LMU 4-0 in Wednesday’s semifinal. The win sends them to the WCC championship on Saturday, Nov. 14, to take on the winner of Seattle U vs. Pepperdine, with an automatic NCAA Tournament bid on the line.