The Santa Clara Broncos may not be a team most college sports fans are familiar with.
But fans of women’s soccer know them quite well.
The Broncos were one of the first soccer teams to emerge on the West coast in 1980.
28 years and 12 NCAA tournaments appearances later, the perennially dominant No. 24 Broncos (3-5-1) find themselves locked in an annual rivalry with the new kids on the block: the No. 2 UCLA Bruins (7-0-1).
“They have a lot of history behind them ““ we respect that,” UCLA head coach Jillian Ellis said.
“They will be an organized team; they will be an attacking-type team, and it’s always a tremendous game when we play Santa Clara … It’s always a great rivalry between us.”
The Bruins and Broncos will clash tonight in Santa Clara in a battle that matches two teams who are both technically skilled and work to maintain possession.
“I think Santa Clara’s always a battle,” junior forward Lauren Cheney said.
“Especially the UCLA-Santa Clara match up. They play such good soccer. I think they complement us well. They like to possess the ball, just like we do. It’s pretty much a game of finesse, and it’s always fun to play.”
The Broncos come into Thursday’s match with a record that some consider to be slightly deceiving.
Although Santa Clara has dropped five matches, they’ve played three teams ranked in the top five.
“They’re playing against the best competition in the country right now, so it’s great practice for them playing against us,” senior midfielder Christina DiMartino said.
“They already played against the top dogs, so they know what to expect.”
UCLA comes into Thursday’s meeting riding an eight-game win streak and a seven-game consecutive shutout streak ““ the longest such streak in team history.
Goalkeepers Ashley Thompson and Yiana Dimmitt have worked together between the poles to fill the void left by All-American keeper Valerie Henderson.
But Thompson attributes the shutouts to a team effort on defense.
“We got the shutouts because we put 100 percent into our defensive effort,” she said.
“It’s really important to us to obviously not get scored on. It’s just hard work ““ we’re working really hard to get better and better each game.”
The Bruins will look to get better at playing on the road as they will almost certainly face a large crowd in Santa Clara.
And if the eyes of spectators aren’t enough, the eyes of television will be upon the Bruins as well. Tonight’s match will be UCLA’s first on TV when the game is broadcast on the Fox Soccer Channel.
But for Cheney, an intense atmosphere only makes the game more fun to play in.
“I think it’s a big game,” Cheney said.
“Santa Clara, the environment, the atmosphere is great. They get a lot of support. So for us to experience that is always fun.”