Santa Clara’s famous alumnae go hard at the College Cup final: Two title-winning teams forge a bond

CARY, NC - MAY 17: The Santa Clara Broncos celebrate after their win against the Florida State Seminoles during the Division I Women's Soccer Championship held at Sahlens Stadium at Wakemed Soccer Park on May 17, 2021 in Cary, North Carolina. Santa Clara won the national championship in overtime on penalty kicks. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
By Meg Linehan
May 18, 2021

On Monday night, No. 11 Santa Clara outlasted No. 1 Florida State in the NCAA College Cup final, completing the upset via penalty kicks. The Broncos had an impressive run to the final, upsetting Clemson and No. 2 North Carolina along the way.

In the stands for that final match at Sahlen’s Stadium in Cary, NC was a collection of notable Santa Clara alumnae who got plenty of screen time on the ESPN2 broadcast as they survived the emotional rollercoaster of back-and-forth goals in regular time, two scoreless overtime periods, then penalty kicks. 

The group included Danielle Slaton, Aly Wagner and Leslie Osborne, members of the 2001 Broncos team that won the program’s first national championship, plus Brandi Chastain, Jordan Angeli and plenty of others who were getting rowdy as they watched the game unfold. The three players from the 2001 team all hopped on the phone from the airport before their flight home to the Bay Area to discuss the Broncos, the fun they had and what exactly was in Aly Wagner’s water bottle.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Let’s just start with the game, honestly.

Slaton: It was really exciting, obviously, to see these Broncos win it all. It was really fun to be in the stands; I mean, I would have had some serious FOMO if I hadn’t gotten on a plane. If I’m being honest, Florida State was probably the better team on the night. But what I loved about Santa Clara was their resilience. They’re just willing to fight and never say die. I think historically at Santa Clara, that hasn’t always been the case. Twenty years ago, we were a team that was known because we wanted to put the ball down and possess and play, and now we have a team that certainly at moments can do that and push the ball around, but they can also just fight and grind out and find a way to get it done.

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We saw a lot of the group of Santa Clara alumnae on TV — it looked like you were having both the best and worst time out of anyone there. The stress levels were very high at points.

Slaton: Totally high! Especially as former athletes, you like to be in control. You like to have that feeling that you’re in control, but oh my gosh, when you’re an old lady and you have to be a fan you have zero control. So you’re right, that stress level was at an all-time high, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s what makes it fantastic.

But there were some serious tactics talks in the stands, we were debating if they were pressing high enough, where they should be pressuring, why they shouldn’t do this — we were pretty fired up. I feel like I played the game. That’s my level of depleted energy at the end of the match, even though we were just screaming our heads off.

I will say, we were taking bets on if Aly Wagner’s water bottle actually had water in it.

Slaton: I will not confirm or deny what she was drinking, because I didn’t drink it so I don’t actually know. I’m just gonna leave it at that, for you to make your own conclusion.

What was it like to have teammates from that 2001 team around you as you watched this team lift a trophy 20 years later?

Slaton: What makes college soccer so special specifically is — yes, playing for the national team is incredible and wonderful, but the national team chooses you. This is the one place where you get to choose. It’s special in that regard, because we’ve all chosen this. To be able to think back to my personal decision to go to Santa Clara, a big reason was that I wanted to help Santa Clara do something it had never done before. Yes, I could have gone to Carolina or Notre Dame, but for me, that was part of the legacy I wanted to leave. We accomplished that in 2001 by getting that national championship. But now when we get the second one, it feels like it’s even bigger. It’s not just about our specific class or our specific time, but it’s about the program, and it’s about a program that has a legacy. That felt very present.

We had a post-game party, but Aly and I got to take a picture alongside Kelsey Turnbow and Alex Loera. It’s the MVP on offense and defense from 2001, and the two from 2021, and we’re all in the same room together and we got to take a picture together. It felt like a full circle kind of moment.

There’s been considerable talk about the Bay Area and the NWSL, but I’ve been having conversations with so many other players who are now trying to find their place in this — someone like Angela Hucles and Angel City, for instance. Do you feel that same drive to figure out your place in the landscape right now?

Slaton: At some point, everybody has this moment of: who do you want to be? What do you want to give to the world? What is your bigger purpose or legacy? I feel like I’m starting to figure that out. I don’t know if I have a good answer for it yet, but the more people I talk to, the more times I get to do the broadcast on television and be around the game, I think, ‘Why can’t we do this?’ We’re smart people. We’ve seen the game. Maybe now is our time.

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We’ve talked about empowerment. We’ve talked about what the legacy of our team is, and previous national teams. We wanted to empower girls to do big things. In my mind, this is the next evolution of that. It’s not good enough now only to be a soccer player who can kick the ball on the field. Yeah, that’s important, but even more important is what are you going to do with the next 60 years or 70 years of your life when you’re done playing soccer?

I think I’m figuring that out. I feel like there’s a lot of other women who are starting to figure that out, too. I think we’ll be resources to each other going forward, whatever shape or form this takes. But I feel called to figure out how I can give back to the game, because it gave a lot to me. That’s the next step.

Slaton passed her phone over to another 2001 teammate, Leslie Osborne.

I just want to start with what it was like to be at the game last night.

Osborne: I want to tell you, I gave everything I had last night. There’s not many times I get to be a true fan, without my children, with my good friends and former teammates. I gave everything I had last night, everything, and it was fucking awesome. 

I had this vision for all of us being here and then winning (the championship) 20 years later, I couldn’t think of a more special time and way for us to win our second national championship. I know, as a freshman, winning a national championship changed the trajectory of my career, having Aly Wagner and Danielle Slaton as my captains changed everything for me. 

I knew this (2021) team was special, only playing seven games and having the year they had with all the setbacks and all the challenges. As a team, they were different. They were gritty, they had the pieces that they’ve kind of missed in the past. I knew, especially after they beat Clemson, they could do this. I’m just really, really happy that all of us decided to come out and be there for the program, be there for Jerry (Smith) and the coaching staff. … I think the win puts us back on the map. People are going to be talking about Santa Clara, not just because we won a national championship, but because of the way we play.

It sounded like there were some personal connections here, too. 

Osborne: The captain, Alex Loera, was drafted by Kansas City. She’s my babysitter. She’s been in my house the last two-and-a-half years babysitting my girls. I know her very, very well and so it was really special for me to be there to support her as an alum, but also for her being a role model for my girls. They look up to her, and they’re surrounded by this soccer team all the time.

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The broadcast mentioned red-eye flights. How did everyone end up out there?

Osborne: I’m lucky because I was a freshman when we won, so I’m closer to some of the older girls, Aly and Danielle are my best friends, but I’m also close to a lot of my alumni friends. I texted a bunch of different alumni all together, and we all just kind of made the call — if they beat North Carolina, we’re going to fly out there. A lot of group texting.

And for us, the red-eyes just made sense because we all have families and a lot of stuff to do, so getting there faster and knowing we could rally on pure adrenaline is the way we were going to go. I came in hot at 5 a.m., I went and met up with HAO (Heather O’Reilly), got my run on with her and saw her baby. Then I met up with my friends and we partied hard and came and brought the energy and the girls absolutely felt it.

Before too long, Aly Wagner was grabbing the phone.

First of all, I have some regrets about not going to North Carolina just to embed in that Santa Clara supporters’ section.

Wagner: Spot on, and you should have come so I’m a little bit mad at you.

A very important question: Was that just water in the water bottle?

Wagner: I don’t know what you’re talking about. All I know is I had a diversion.

You’re a pro.

Wagner: I had my CBS HQ hit at three o’clock, basically 3 to 3:30, so I didn’t pre-game. So believe it or not, that was me almost sober.

What’s it like to be a fan in the stands for a game like that?

Wagner: It was so refreshing to go to a game and not have to quell my emotions. To just go and be a part of it, as opposed to talking over it. I was actually thinking about that this morning — beyond the fact of COVID, it’s probably been since like 2018. So being able to let loose was a freaking blast. 

What stood out to you about this Santa Clara team?

Wagner: I think the grittiness. The mental toughness and the ability to not have the ball and still win games. This group was so mentally strong, and it’s not easy. There was a ridiculous stat like 79% of the possession was with Florida State, if I’m not mistaken. That was part of the game plan, to not press high and to let FSU come at the Broncos, but that’s uncomfortable for a lot of these players that want to be on the ball. To stick to that gameplan and to have that mental toughness was what really stood out to me. And no fear.

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Is there anything else you think people should know about this team before everyone jumps on the flight home?

Wagner: It was really hard for them to be in the bubble in North Carolina. I think it was really hard on the girl, and I don’t know if that’s been talked about, but that’s part of the mental toughness piece, too. They were away from their loved ones for so long, to stay the course and not break protocol — that stands out to me.

We definitely saw how difficult the bubble could be even in the Challenge Cup.

Wagner: Completely, and these girls are young. Just so hard. I’m just so proud. The reason why I went to Santa Clara was to win the first (national championship) and to change the trajectory of this program. The girls picked up that torch and I feel like this is going to continue, to build on what we started. But yeah, 20 years is a little too long between trophies.

 

(Photo: Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

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Meg Linehan

Meg Linehan is a senior writer for The Athletic who covers the U.S. women's national team, the National Women's Soccer League and more. She also hosts the weekly podcast "Full Time with Meg Linehan." Follow Meg on Twitter @itsmeglinehan