The Santa Clara Broncos had only two shots on goal, but they made their chances count.
Those two first-half shots turned into goals from Kelsey Turnbow and Izzy D’Aquila. They were enough to hold off the first seeded Duke Blue Devils 2-1 and send Santa Clara to their second consecutive College Cup.
“This is such a resilient group,” said Broncos head coach Jerry Smith after the win. “For us to win all those games last year and to make the run this year, it’s just incredible.”
A bonus for the Broncos is this year’s College Cup will be happening at Stevens Stadium at Buck Shaw Field on the Santa Clara campus.
Broncos score on their only two opportunities
In the 25th minute, D’Aquila got the Broncos on the board after a deflected shot attempt from Skylar Smith. The ball fell to D’Aquila, who hit the ball into the net for their first goal.
Four minutes later, Santa Clara doubled their lead when Kelsey Turnbow scored on an assist from Marisa Bubnis.
Duke climbed back within a goal in the 62nd minute, but the Broncos were able to hold off the Blue Devils and claim the victory and trip back across the country to defend their title in front of their home fans.
“We just did what we had to do today,” noted Smith. “…We kind of found ourselves on fumes here. We’re missing three players that played last week for us in [Washington] D.C. for concussion and red card suspension.”
“We can’t wait to get home tomorrow,” added Smith. “We can’t wait to be back on campus. We can’t wait to play in the semifinal, in the College Cup, on our own campus.”
