 By David Blanar
TSC Sports Editor
November 10, 1995
Leave it to Bronco junior Mikka Hansen to come through with the game on the line.
And why not?
She has come through so many times in her collegiate career, scoring when she's had to and even when she shouldn't. Hansen did it again Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against visiting Stanford, scoring her second goal of the contest
and by far her most important of the year at the 138:40 mark, ending the second sudden-death period and sending SCU across the country to face Virginia Saturday at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Big-time goal for Hansen
Hansen electrified the loudest Buck Shaw Stadium crowd this season with a goal that did not come easy. The score knotted at 2-2, both teams continued a feverish pace through both sudden-death periods. It wasn't until Stanford was whistled
for a foul nearly 40 yards out from the right side of the Cardinal goal, however, when the Broncos could finally piece together a scoring drive.
SCU junior Dayna Smith was fouled driving down the right midfield sideline, and set up for a free kick. Smith's ball sailed into the box and was headed off to the right side by Stanford's star defender Suzie Boots. But Bronco freshman forw
ard Lisa Naņez promptly put the pressure back on the Cardinal, serving the ball into the middle of a crowd 10 yards in front of the goal. Teammate junior Samantha Obara settled Naņez's pass, and then punched a high, whistling, shot which banged loudly off
the top crossbar and back down in front of the net to Hansen's feet. Not more than four yards away from the goal, she dumped the offering into the left corner of the net, and before the ball had even brushed the twine, the rest of the Broncos were racing
to the exhausted squad while the crowd of nearly 3,000 strong poured onto the field, resulting in a huge dogpile at the centerline and Hansen on the shoulders of several Bronco fans. "I was very proud of the team," SCU Head Coach Jerry Smith said. "To hi
t the post as many times, and to score after shows a lot of perseverance." According to the coach, the performance was a representation of the best Bronco play. "We gave everything we had today," he said. "It took maximum effort to win, and I'm very proud
of our players."
Stanford sends game into sudden-death
Santa Clara took the lead in the contest during the regular overtime period, at the 102:12 mark, on Hansen's first goal of the game. Dayna Smith again figured in the goal, lofting a pretty pass to Hansen who was streaking down the left sid
e deep in Cardinal territory. Smith's pass rolled gently to Hansen who seared a shot past a diving Stanford goalkeeper, freshman Erin Bryla to take a 2-1 lead. But the Cardinal weren't done. Less than a minute later, at 103:04, Stanford's forward wing Eri
n Martin blitzed down Santa Clara's left side, punching a wicked cross to an oncoming Trace Lawyer who leaped three feet off the ground, angled her foot to squarely send a high rocket past Bronco keeper
Christina Sanchez to tie the game at 2-2.
Regulation play
The two teams traded goals in regulation, both in the second period. Stanford struck first at 59:12 on a beautiful combination, started on the far left corner by Cardinal Carmel Murphy. Murphy slipped the ball into the SCU interior to a wa
iting teammate, Dena Dey, who then flicked the pass on to Kelly Adamson on the right side who punched it in past Sanchez. Santa Clara exacted its revenge, however, care of Stanford. Bronco forward Erin Martinez dribbled with strength into the goal box on
the left side. Boots, knowing she was beat, tackled Martinez from behind and was whistled for a penalty. Obara converted the penalty kick to tie the score at 1-1 at the 80:09 mark.
Next up for Santa Clara
The win propels the Broncos across the country to Virginia where the Cavaliers will host SCU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 7:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, Nov. 18.
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