By Alex Diaz (@DiazOnSports) – SJSU freshman defender Alexis Dueker struggles to gain possession back against SCU senior midfielder Leah O’Brian (Photo by Taylor Cowhey – Spear Photographer)
San Jose State women’s soccer (0-1-0) fell 3-0 to No. 16 Santa Clara (1-0-0) on Thursday night at Stevens Stadium – Buck Shaw Field.
The Spartans have not won a season opener since 2015, when they defeated Lamar 3-0.
A brand new team featuring 14 freshmen, 10 transfers, and just six returners. The match also marked the debut of head coach Sonia Curvelo, who previously coached at Sam Houston, Prairie View A&M, Cleveland State and Mississippi Valley State.
SJSU had an early chance to keep the game scoreless when Santa Clara graduate student midfielder Kat Jordan missed a penalty kick in the 10th minute. Spartan sophomore goalkeeper Paige Fry dove to her right to make the stop.
Just two minutes later, the Broncos broke through. Sophomore forward Lauren Hunter found junior forward Kennedy Schoennauer in space and she slotted the ball into the bottom left corner for the opening goal.
“She was a good player and was able to cut our back line,” Fry said. “We just wanted to keep momentum going, so it was unfortunate.”
Santa Clara doubled its lead in the 39th minute when freshman forward Jalana Kimber finished a feed from redshirt sophomore Mailin Orozco into the bottom left corner, sending the Spartans into halftime trailing 2-0.
SJSU was held without a shot attempt in the first half and committed 10 fouls.
“I told my players at halftime the importance of understanding that we’ve come together as a team from the last two and a half weeks,” Curvelo said.
In the 70th minute, Jordan redeemed her earlier miss, scoring off a right-footed strike into the bottom right corner with assists from senior forward Leah O’Brien and freshman defender Keira Martin, 3-0.
Fry accumulated seven saves throughout the match. The Spartans defense held off the Broncos for the remainder of the match, but the offense struggled to find the net.
“I thought we did a lot of great things, and we made some mistakes that cost us the first two goals,” Curvelo said. “Right now, to me this isn’t a loss.”
SJSU looks to add its first win of the season, hosting Cal State Northridge at noon on Sunday at the Spartan Soccer Complex.
