Santa Clara University

After nearly a century of intercollegiate sports, Santa Clara reeled in its first NCAA Championship in 1989 thanks to a brilliant season from the men's soccer program.
 
Led by ISAA National Coach of the Year Steve Sampson, the Broncos were undefeated in the regular season and were ranked first in the national polls ahead of the 1989 NCAA Tournament. Santa Clara cruised through the first three rounds with home wins over Fresno State (2-1) and UCLA (2-0) before taking down Indiana, 4-2, in the NCAA Semifinal in Piscataway, N.J. to set up a date with Virginia with the national championship title on the line.
 
The championship game was played on Dec. 3^rd in Piscataway in miserable conditions that saw a wind chill of 10 degrees below zero and wind gusts that affected nearly every kick that sent the ball in the air. Virginia found the back of the net first and the Broncos answered in the 83^rd minute on goal by Jeff Baicher. The teams proceeded to play two thrilling defense-heavy overtime periods. With neither team unable to score throughout the 60-minute duration of overtime, the officials declared both teams co-champions. It was the third and final time in history that the NCAA recognized men's soccer co-champions.
 
The Broncos finished the 1989 season with a 20-0-3 record and a school-record 78 goals. Seven players were named All-WCC including Baicher, the WCC Player of the Year, and First Team All-America selection Cameron Rast.