My first year as the Santa Clara women’s soccer SID was 2011. One of my earliest projects was contacting the members of the 2001 National Championship team, the program’s lone title to that point, and posting Q&As about that magical run. I remember the day we honored the team at halftime of a match, I got to hold the trophy and had someone take a picture of me with it.
Fast forward just under 10 years. I’m sitting in the entryway of a restaurant in North Carolina, wearing my National Championship hat and t-shirt that were handed out on the field, an hour or so after the final penalty kick that sealed the team’s second title, and getting my picture taken with the new trophy.
So many people not only rooted the team on from afar but showed up to North Carolina. Alums and soccer legends Brandi Chastain, Aly Wager, Leslie Osborne, and Danielle Slaton, among many others, took redeyes to be there for the final. Despite being the team the furthest from home, we had the most supporters in the stands. There were watch parties back in Santa Clara, including at PayPal Park, home of the San Jose Earthquakes, that featured students and members of the community. The players and coaches all said the support is what pushed them to the finish line.
The celebration continued coast-to-coast but there was work to be done. I went into the party in a private dining room for the team and supporters and grabbed Kelsey Turnbow, the College Cup Offensive Most Outstanding Player, so a representative from our conference could interview her by the trophy. Next up was Defensive Most Outstanding Player Alex Loera and then head coach Jerry Smith, who had just completed his 34th year at the helm of the program and became one of just six DI women’s soccer head coaches with multiple titles.
Since those interviews, the media requests haven’t stopped. It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that I’ve coordinated more interviews in the last few weeks than in the previous 10 years.
At a non-Power 5 school like Santa Clara, we struggle to get the attention of our local media, let alone the national media. It doesn’t help that we’re in an area with several other universities, including Stanford and Cal, and six professional teams.
We form relationships with the local media but even when someone wants to do a feature on us, often there’s something else going on that takes priority.
It can be frustrating, but we know the stories we have are worth telling, just as much so as the bigger teams, so we keep sending ideas and press releases, hoping something will catch on.
A run to the College Cup and a National Championship caught on with the media.
Stories about us started in earnest once we made it to the College Cup. We finally had more chances to show off our great University, program, and student-athletes, to both the local and national media.
Things have slowed down but I’m sure the interview requests will pick up again around August when the team begins its title defense and quest to win two national titles in the same calendar year. I’m also sure we’ll struggle to get our stories told again at some point. Every program across the country has stories worth sharing and it’s frustrating when you can’t them told.
I don’t really have any words of wisdom I learned through this run. All I can tell you is it was a whole lot of fun.
- Joey Karp (@jkarp86)
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