SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – For the second time in three years, the University of San Francisco women's soccer team (3-5-2) took down a ranked Broncos team at home as the Dons blanked No. 13 Santa Clara (6-2-2), 3-0, at Negoesco Stadium on Thursday night.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Both teams started the match with a defensive mindset as the first shot of the match did not come until the 12^th minute. Just a few minutes after, Kira Ybarra kept the Broncos off the board with a save on a shot by Santa Clara forward Colby Barnett in the 17^th minute.
• The green and gold were able to protect their goal for the first period as the two teams headed back to the locker room in a scoreless tie.
• Wasting no time to start the second half, Alex Carpio drove down the left side of the pitch before using her left foot to bury her the game's first goal in the 51^st minute and give the Dons a 1-0 lead.
• Less than three minutes later, Jackie Koerwitz got into the mix with another goal for the Dons in the 53^rd minute to double San Francisco's advantage to 2-0.
• In the 55^th minute, Carpio was on the delivering end of the ball as the sophomore juked a Bronco defender before finding the cutting Ellie Weissenberg inside the box, who then headed home USF's third goal in four minutes to boost their lead to 3-0.
• Down the stretch, Santa Clara was unable to score in the final minutes as the Dons went on to shutout No. 13 Santa Clara, 3-0.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• With the win, San Francisco defeated Santa Clara for just the third time since 1985 and the second time in the last three seasons. Notably, it also marked USF's second win at home over the Broncos as the Dons had never defeated SCU at home prior to 2021.
• Nearly two years to the day, tonight's victory marked San Francisco's first win over a ranked team since 2021, when they bested No. 19 Santa Clara in a 2-0 shutout on the Hilltop on Sept. 25, 2021.
• Three different Dons scored goals within three minutes and 48 seconds in tonight's match - Weissenberg scored the first goal of her collegiate career, Koerwitz found the back of the net for the second time as a Don and Alex Carpio scored her team-leading fourth goal of the 2023 campaign.

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the full highlights of tonight's match, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with head coach Jim Millinder, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with associate head coach Pinder Nijjar, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with Jackie Koerwitz, please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will return to the pitch on Saturday, Sept. 30 as they host Saint Mary's to open conference play at 6:00 p.m. at Negoesco Stadium. Live streaming and live statistics links for both matches are available via each team's schedule page. Tickets for the match next Saturday are available via usfdons.com/tickets.

FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the USF women's soccer program, be sure to follow @USFDonsWSoccer on Twitter, @USFDonsWSoccer on Instagram and @USFDonsWSOC on Facebook.

MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.

SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor – Planet Orange - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.