PROVO, Utah – Santa Clara women's soccer went into one of the toughest environments in the country and came away with a 1-0 win over seventh-seeded BYU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Broncos (13-3-4) strong defense led the way against a hot Cougars (9-7-5) offense with Tori Powell hitting an incredible shot for the lone tally.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Powell broke the seal on the scoring in the 70th minute. Leah O'Brien deflected the ball to Powell who took a few touches before blasting a beautiful shot from outside the top of the box that was placed perfectly inside the upper-right corner of the goal.
• Marlee Nicolos had a tremendous game in net. She made multiple difficult saves in both halves and held strong as the BYU offense tried to equalize late.

 
NOTABLE NUMBERS:

• The Broncos fired off 13 shots and put three of them on goal while drawing five corner kicks.
• Nicolos was credited with four saves but commanded the box and made plenty of other plays to snuff out potentially dangerous chances for the Cougars.
• With the victory, Santa Clara has now won a game in each of the last 10 NCAA Tournaments. The only other team to accomplish that feat is Florida State.
• This was the 66th NCAA Tournament win in Santa Clara program history.
• The Broncos are now 5-0-1 all-time against BYU in the postseason.
• Santa Clara became the first team to shutout BYU four times in a row and the first team to ever shutout the Cougars twice in a row in Provo.

 
POSTGAME COMMENTS:
 

onto the next!

Hear about the win from Coach Jerry ??#StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/YCG25mIIql

— Santa Clara Women's Soccer (@SCUWomensSoccer) November 16, 2024

HIGHLIGHTS:
 

TORI FOR THE LEAD!#StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/6O4Aqr57j0

— Santa Clara Women's Soccer (@SCUWomensSoccer) November 16, 2024

NEXT UP

• The Broncos will face second seeded North Carolina in the second round Friday.