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Head coach Jerry Smith enters his 23rd season at the helm of the Santa Clara women's soccer program in 2009. Although he is most known for the development of his players and teams, Smith also produces success and is the winningest women's soccer coach in Santa Clara history, having compiled a record of 338-90-30 (.771) -- ranked top-5 in NCAA Division I history -- establishing a standard of excellence few can match. Since taking over the head coaching duties at Santa Clara in the spring of 1987, Smith has built the Bronco soccer program into a national power. For 19 consecutive seasons, his Broncos have reached the NCAA Tournament and have been ranked among the top 10 teams in the country. Smith's success culminated in 2001, as he was named the National Coach of the Year after bringing home the University's first outright NCAA championship. The Broncos ended that season on the highest note, going 6-0 in the postseason and winning the College Cup by defeating perennial power North Carolina 1-0. The team finished its season with a 23-2-0 mark, defeating 10 nationally-ranked opponents and ending the undefeated seasons of five squads. The Broncos led the nation in scoring offense and captured their sixth West Coast Conference title. Smith accomplished this feat with more newcomers on his roster than returning letterwinners, receiving solid leadership from four-time All-American Danielle Slaton and Honda Player of the Year Aly Wagner. The Broncos defended their 2001 title in the following year's championship, up until the second overtime of the title contest, where the Broncos ceded the national crown to a league rival. Santa Clara topped North Carolina for the second consecutive year in the semifinal to reach the title contest. Smith has led SCU to 10 College Cup appearances, the second most of any collegiate program in the 26-year history of the Tournament. Although the Broncos faced their first season under .500 in 2008, finishing with a 4-12-4 overall record after being plagued with injuries, the year was highlighted by seven All-WCC selections including first team honoree Katherine Reynolds and double overtime draws with some of the nation's top teams such as then-No. 2 UCLA in a nationally televised match. Smith also saw seven of his former student-athletes -- Brandi Chastain `91, Marian Dalmy `07, Chioma Igwe `08, Brittany Klein `08, Meagan McCray `09, Leslie Osborne `05 and Aly Wagner `02 -- named to rosters in the inaugural season of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). In 2007, Smith coached eight athletes - Kiki Bosio, Tina Estrada, Maxine Goynes, Chioma Igwe, Brittany Klein, Kendra Perry, Katherine Reynolds and Meagan Snell - to All-West Coast Conference honors. Both Bosio and Klein were named to the NSCAA/adidas All-West Region second and third team, respectively. Bosio, Klein, Reynolds, Goynes and Perry also earned Soccer Buzz All-West Region accolades. The Broncos finished the season with their 19 straight NCAA Tournament appearance, bowing out in the first round to the Golden Bears of Cal, 2-0. Santa Clara compiled a 12-6-3 overall record and went 4-3-0 in WCC action. SCU's season was highlighted by an early 7-1 rout of then-No. 2 Notre Dame in the first round of the 2007 Santa Clara adidas Classic. The 2006 season saw Smith and his Broncos reap the benefits of a strong regular season, winning the program's ninth WCC title with a 5-1-1 league record. Smith was named WCC Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his career, while senior defender Marian Dalmy became the seventh WCC Player of the Year in team history. Smith also boasted nine All-WCC selections from his squad. In 2005, Smith's Broncos posted a 17-5-2 mark which included wins over such ranked programs as California, Cal Poly, Boston College and a dramatic 2-1 victory over then-No.1 Notre Dame on September 9 at Buck Shaw Stadium. SCU also reached the NCAA quarterfinals for the 11th-straight season, continuing the nation's longest such streak. On Sept. 23, 2005, Smith reached a career milestone that only two Division I head coaches before him had attained. With SCU's 2-1 win over St. Louis that night, Smith became the third member of the 300-Win Club, joining North Carolina's Anson Dorrance and Connecticut's Len Tsantiris in the elite club. Smith guided his 1999 team to its fourth straight NCAA national semifinal appearance, second consecutive WCC title, with a perfect 7-0-0 league mark, and best record with a 23-1-0 mark. It was the winningest season in the history of Santa Clara women's soccer as well as the first perfect regular season--undefeated and untied. The Broncos were ranked No. 1 the entire season (the team's highest since 1990) and finished the year ranked second. They also established a new school and league mark for goals scored in a single season, producing 108 in 24 games, becoming just the 15th team in NCAA history to surpass the century mark in goals scored in a single season. For Smith, success is magnified by the accolades his athletes achieve. That season, a record 13 players earned All-WCC honors, including Player of the Year Mandy Clemens, Defensive Player of the Year Nikki Serlenga and Freshman of the Year Aly Wagner, and five were recognized as best in the nation, earning NSCAA/adidas All-America honors. Smith's peers voted him the WCC's Co-Coach of the Year. In 1998, Smith led the Broncos to their sixth NCAA semifinal appearance while guiding Santa Clara to a then school-record 22 victories. In all, Smith's squad would establish a new NCAA record, posting 16 consecutive shutouts en route to the Tournament. The Broncos finished the regular season ranked second in the nation. In 1997, Smith earned his third WCC Coach of the Year award while leading the Broncos to the school's fifth NCAA semifinal appearance in the last nine years. The team finished with 20 victories, including five against teams ranked in the top 25, en route to a 20-3-1 record and the school's first WCC crown since the 1993 season. In 1996, Santa Clara advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the fourth time, winning more postseason contests (three) than any previous team in school history, and finishing with an 18-4-2 record. Santa Clara earned a No. 2 national ranking midway through the campaign, the highest ranking for the Broncos since 1993, after they beat top-ranked Notre Dame, 3-1. In 1995, Smith earned his second WCC Coach of the Year honor as the squad recorded a 16-4-2 record, reached the NCAA Tournament for the seventh consecutive year and became the first Bronco team to win two postseason games in reaching the national quarterfinals. The performance was even more remarkable following first-round playoff losses in 1993 and `94, and the absence of red-shirting All-American Jennifer Lalor. The Broncos also earned their first outright WCC title since 1993, allowing no goals during league play. Smith elevated the Broncos to national prominence in 1989, as Santa Clara made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. After receiving a first-round bye, Santa Clara captured the NCAA West Regional title and a berth in the national semifinal game. The campaign kicked off a string of three national semifinal appearances in four years, as Santa Clara was one of the NCAA Tournament's final four teams in 1990 and `92. The 1990 campaign was one of Smith's most rewarding as a coach, as Santa Clara earned the nation's No. 1 ranking, finishing 18-1-1 behind ISAA National Player of the Year Brandi Chastain. Smith has also earned recognition on national and international levels. In March 2000, he was named the U.S. Under-21 National Team coach, a position he resigned in August 2002, after capturing the 2001 Nordic Cup and successfully defending the championship a year later. He has also served on the FIFA Technical Report Team and was the Site Coordinator for Brazil during World Cup 1994. He was also the West Region head coach for the Olympic Development Program. Smith began his coaching career at his alma mater, Homestead High School in Sunnyvale, Calif., where his boys' teams compiled a 69-29-12 record in seven seasons, including two consecutive league championships. Along with his head coaching responsibilities at Homestead, Smith also served as the assistant coach for Foothill College's men's team from 1982-86 in Los Altos Hills, Calif. He also had a one-year stint as Foothill's head women's coach in 1986. After obtaining his A.S. degree from Foothill in 1981, Smith earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Cal State Hayward in 1986. The 48-year-old Smith resides in Santa Clara with his wife and former U.S. National Team member Brandi Chastain. The couple also welcomed son Jaden Chastain Smith in June 2006. |
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