By Jonathan Cañas (@jonathancanas_) – Spear reporter
Senior forward Bella Flocchini walking off the pitch | Photo by Titus Wilkinson – The Spear
It was a rude awakening for San Jose State women’s soccer as the Spartans kicked off their home opener against the crosstown foe No. 22 Santa Clara.
The Spartans fell 4-0. After allowing a single goal in the first half, the Spartan defense collapsed in the second half as the Broncos scored three more goals to end the night.
“I took a lot of positives away from the first half to see what kind of team we’re going to be,” San Jose head coach Tina Estrada said. “It was a tale of two halves and our team has to get fitter to keep that momentum.”
SJSU went toe to toe with Santa Clara in the first half, recording six shots on goal along with three saves from senior goalkeeper Shayla Sugai.
The only slip up came in the 21st minute when Bronco midfielder Colby Barnett scored off a long pass across the pitch from Sally Menti that caught the Spartans defense off guard.
Sugai’s five blocks matched her season high from last year. Her fourth block was the most impressive as It came from a penalty kick in the 54th minute.
For as great as the defense was in the first half, the SJSU offense couldn’t keep possession of the ball. The Spartans got one shot off in the second half from senior forward Bella Flocchini.
The Broncos scored three goals in seven minutes. Santa Clara’s Kennedy Schoennauer scored at the 69th and 76th minute to put the match away.
“We had a lot of challenges today but I feel like we’re definitely growing as a team regardless of the loss,” SJSU senior forward Kennedy Mayo said. “Coming into this game we knew we had to grind and I feel like we did that but got an unlucky result.”
The Spartans continue their opening home-stand at noon Sunday against Saint Mary’s at the Spartan Soccer Complex.
