The Santa Clara Broncos Have Won The 2021 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship

Santa Clara’s Cinderella run to the 2021 NCAA women’s soccer championship is complete. The Broncos are a national power in their own right under Jerry Smith, having produced the likes of Aly Wagner, Brandi Chastain, and Julie Ertz. Those who came before this current team laid the groundwork for Santa Clara’s program, and now they are national champions for the second time in school history. No one would’ve picked them to win it all, but they shocked the world to defeat Florida State in penalties. Here’s a quick tournament recap of how things went down: 

Before we get into how Santa Clara pulled off the improbable, we have to look at No. 1 Florida State being minutes away from the title themselves. After a first half with a couple of chances for both sides, the teams broke the deadlock in the second half. Jenna Nighswonger provided a moment of individual brilliance to score the first goal of the match. 

Santa Clara pushed on with their high-powered attack, but Florida State executed their gameplan well to keep them in check for most of the match. Then, with less than 10 minutes to go, a critical mistake from the Seminoles cost them dearly. An errant back pass allowed for Chicago Red Stars draft pick Kelsey Turnbow to pounce in it. The Broncos star took advantage of the error, as she and her team did all tournament long, and converted the chance. 

After losing to the Broncos 3-1 in the Final Four, North Carolina knows better than anyone, giving Santa Clara chances like that is a recipe for disaster. After extra time was scoreless, the final went to penalties. Florida State won two shootouts in the tournament coming into the final. This could’ve been the downfall for the Seminoles, who had their first two attempts clang off the post. When teams have the chance to study your tendencies over two shootouts, it becomes hard not to overthink it when stepping up to the spot. 

This gave Santa Clara the advantage they needed, and they sealed the deal with this penalty kick:

The last time the Broncos won the national title was 20 years ago in 2001. This victory, all these years later, is even sweeter. Here’s who Santa Clara had to beat to win it all: 

• Ohio State 4-1 #2 in the Big 10
• #6 Arkansas 2-0 #1 in the SEC
• #14 Clemson 1-0 #4 in the ACC
• #2 North Carolina 3-1 #2 in the ACC
• #1 Florida State 1-1 (PKs) #1 in the ACC

Talk about a run for the ages. They beat the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the entire country. No one would’ve picked the Broncos to beat North Carolina and Florida State back-to-back. The cliche that to be the best, you gotta beat the best is true in this situation and exactly what Santa Clara did.

Not bad for a school from the West Coast Conference. This is huge for collegiate soccer. It’s proof that teams from the power five conferences can’t dominate their way to the title anymore. The Santa Clara Broncos are national champions for the second time – it was a treat for us all to enjoy as it unfolded. 

Featured Image via @SCUWomensSoccer on Twitter

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