Thrilling 2-1 Victory Over WCC Rival LMU
Soccer News: In the midst of the school’s Grand Reunion Weekend, Santa Clara women’s soccer added to the excitement Friday evening with a thrilling 2-1 double overtime victory against West Coast Conference rival LMU.
Mariana Galvan led the Broncos (8-4-0, 1-1-0 WCC) with the game-winner in the final minute of the second extra session, and Kellie Peay knotted the match at 1-all minutes after LMU scored the game’s first goal. It was Galvan’s second double-overtime winner this season, with the first coming at Kansas in a 1-0 win. Andi Tostanoski picked up six saves.
The Lions (8-4-1, 2-1-0 WCC) got their goal from Jocelyn Blankenship midway through the first half.
“This was a grinder game and from a coaching stand point is one that takes years off your life but you want your team to play in games like this because that’s the way the games are in the NCAA Tournament,” said Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith. “It’s great to get the win. It’s great to come from behind. I’m proud of what we did in the second half and in the overtimes. Credit to LMU who really outplayed us in the first half. We’ve got to come out and start the game better. We’ll be coming out ready to fight on Sunday. That said I’m really happy with the fight we saw in the team in the second half.”
With a raucous contingent of students in attendance, Smith and the Broncos were able to feed of their energy for most of the 110-minute match.
“I’m really thankful that our students were here in force,” said Smith. “Since they’ve been on campus we’ve played three home games and in the Stanford game they helped us to the win. We had a light turnout vs. USF on Sunday and we had a flat performance. The fans lifted us again tonight like they did in the Stanford game. I’m happy we had so many fans but especially happy that so many students came out. The students deserve a big assist in helping us win another home game.”
The Lions jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute. A ball was sent into the box but a Bronco was able to send it back out. Blankenship got the ball near the upper left corner of the box and hit a low shot to the far post that just snuck in.
The Broncos drew even in the 32nd minute. Megan Crosson served a high ball into the box where Peay got her head to it and flicked it up and over the keeper to tie the score at 1-all.
With less than a minute left in the game, Santa Clara put pressure on the Lions defense that led to the game-winner. Galvan got a loose ball in the box and was able to blast it into the back of the net to give the Broncos the sudden-death win.
Santa Clara returns to the field Sunday at 1 p.m. vs. Pepperdine.
