The defending NCAA Champions Santa Clara Broncos will have their eyes on a repeat title, but there are several local teams that will be looking to dethrone them this season.
Santa Clara look to make it two in a row
Santa Clara came into this season ranked second in the nation and it’s clear why since they are returning many of their star players. This includes the Broncos scoring duo of Kelsey Turnbow and Izzy D’Aquilla, and Alex Lorea captaining their defensive line.
All three players have been named to the Preseason All-West Coast Conference team along with last season’s freshman of the year Sally Menti.
Turnbow (10 goals last season) and D’Aquilla (8 goals last season) are expected to once again lead the Santa Clara attack with the help of Menti (6 assists last season) setting them up.
Loera was a second-team All-American and was named WCC Defender of the Year last season and goalie Marlee Nicolos will look to once again look to keep the opposition off the scoreboard.
“Last year we finished on top even though we didn’t start on top and this year we’re not starting on top again, which is fine with us,” said Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith. “Our goal is to finish the season No. 1. We know it’s a long way to get there but that’s the poll we’ll focus on.”
Santa Clara has had a bit of a slow start to this season. After defeating San Jose State 3-0, they tied Cal 1-1 and had to come from behind to tie Seattle University 2-2 while dropping down to number four in polls. The team got their second win on the season (2-0-2) outshooting Cal State Fullerton 22-5 for the final 1-0 scoreline.
Stanford Plan to Rebound from Disappointing Season
The 2019 Champions, Stanford (3-0-0) looked to be a lock for the College Cup but ended up outside the NCAA postseason tournament for the first time in 22 years, finishing with 6 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses.
This year the Cardinals look to once again challenge for the Pac-12 title. They were picked third in the league coaches pre-season poll, just behind UCLA and USC.
They will be led in the back by senior Naomi Girma, who was the 2019 Pac-12 defender of the year but missed the 2020 season due to injury. She is on the Hermann Trophy Watch List, which is awarded to the top individual player in the NCAA.
Stanford’s offense should be led by Junior Maya Doms, who netting in the team’s first game against Cal Poly and scored a hat trick against California State University Northridge. Freshman Andrea Kitahata scored a brace in Stanford’s 6-0 victory over San Diego State last Sunday.
Top recruiting class looks to power Berkeley in Pac-12
Despite finishing the shortened 2020 season with a losing record, the Cal Bears have the number one recruiting class in the nation. It should help them move up the Pac 12 standings this season.
Cal will have fourteen freshmen with three top 50 recruits: Ayo Oke (25), Arianna Manrique (28), and Karlie Lema (36).
“I think the depth of the team this year is very strong. There is going to be a lot of competition in practices ceand games,” said Cal head coach Neil McGuire. “Because of that, there is an edge in their play.”
Defender Emily Smith was drafted by the NWSL’s Racing Louisville but decided to come back for one more college campaign. Also returning are all-conference players goalie Angelina Anderson, Emma Westin, defender Maya Evans and forward Amaya Gray.
The Bears (2-0-2) started the season off strong. They beat UC San Diego 3-0, tied Santa Clara 1-1 at home, defeated Portland 2-0, and came back to tie Saint Mary’s 1-1.
All-WCC keeper Poland anchors Saint Mary’s defense
Second-year coach Theresa Romagnolo will rely on the stellar defense of All-WCC goalie Taylor Poland to lead the Gales to another successful season.
Last year the Gaels went 4-4-3 for their best season since 2011. A large part of reaching that record was because of the stellar keeping of Poland, who notched an 85.9% save percentage and 0.77 goals against average.
Second team All-WCC defender Maya Alcantara will help lead the Gaels defense. They will look to WCC honorable mentions AnnaMaria DiGeronimo and Emily Jensen to lead the attack.
The team also brought in thirteen new players to help solidify the squad.
Saint Mary’s (3-0-1), ranked to finish sixth in the WCC this season, started out the year on a three-game unbeaten streak. They first defeated Sacramento State 3-0, before coming back to defeat Cal Poly 2-1, San Diego State also by a 2-1 scoreline. They then tied Cal 1-1 on Sunday.
USF looks for another season above .500
After finished with 4 wins, 4 losses, and 2 ties in the shortened 2020 campaign, the University of San Francisco (1-0-1) looks to have another positive season at the Hilltop.
USF head coach Jim Millinder is excited about the club he has put together for the 2021 season.
“Our non-conference schedule is very challenging playing Cal, Stanford, Oregon, and Santa Clara,” said Millinder. “Plus, we will make trips out of region to play SMU and Baylor. We are looking forward to it!”
The Dons bring five new freshmen onto the squad: Fatima Waldo Garcia, Emmie Paulson, Allison Kamansky, Kira Ybarra, and Elle Soleau. Returning are All-WCC second-team players Sydney Cooper and Catherine Hill.
USF was voted to finish seventh in the WCC coaches poll. They started out the season well holding the Oregon Ducks to a 1-1 draw before defeating San Jose State 2-0.
San Jose State assembles building blocks for successful season
Spartan head coach Lauren Hanson has nine new players on this year’s team that hopes to make some noise in the Mountain West confernece.
San Jose’s new additions are led by Freshman Forward Bella Flocchini who awarded the 2020-21 Gatorade Nevada Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Phoenix College Junior college transfer Kiana Miyazato also joins the Spartans after being part of the team that won the NJCAA Division II championship.
Evan House, who was named to the Mountain West All-Newcomer team, will help lead a team returning 18 players from the shortened 2020 season.
The Spartans (1-2-0) started off the sesaon with a challenging non-confernence schedule. They played defending national champions Santa Clara in their first game falling 3-0. They also lost to USF at their home opener 2-0. However San Jose won their first game of the season on Sunday defeating UC Santa Barbara 3-1.