The University of Arkansas women's soccer team earned its second NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 berth in school history. But Santa Clara made sure the road ended there Wednesday evening in Cary, N.C.
The No. 11 seeded Broncos controlled play most of the night and blanked the sixth-seeded Razorbacks 2-0 at the WakeMed Soccer Park.
Santa Clara (9-1) limited Arkansas (12-4) to six shots on the night, including only three on goal, and out-shot the Razorbacks 11-6. Seven of the Broncos' shots were on frame.
Julie Doyle racked up assists on both Santa Clara goals. The Broncos led 1-0 at halftime, but Doyle connected with teammate Skylar Smith on a perfect cross in the 73rd minute. Smith put the ball into the back of the net to push the lead to 2-0 and set the final score.
Arkansas couldn't manage a shot in the final 22 minutes, and its last shot on goal came in the 64th minute.
Santa Clara will take on No. 14 seed Clemson in Sunday's Elite Eight. The Tigers edged third-seeded UCLA 1-1 (6-5 PKs) earlier in the day.
Arkansas was trying to make its first Elite Eight appearance in school history, but the Broncos were too much. The only other Sweet 16 for the Razorbacks came in 2013 when they fell short to Duke in penalty kicks. This was also the second consecutive season that Arkansas earned a national seed.
With Arkansas trailing 1-0, Anna Podojil had a chance to tie the game early in the second half. She got the ball deep in the Broncos' side after Parker Goins intercepted a Santa Clara pass and fed the ball to her teammate, but Santa Clara keeper Marlee Nicolos was there for the save.
The start of Arkansas' match was delayed for almost 90 minutes because of a weather delay near the end of the earlier Clemson-UCLA match.
The Broncos scored the only goal of the opening half off a header from Izzy D'Aquila. Doyle's shot was deflected by Arkansas keeper Hannah Warner, but D'Aquila was there to put it back for the 1-0 lead in the 28th minute.
The Razorbacks managed just two shots in the entire half -- just one being on mark. Goins blasted the shot from about 30 yards out, but Nicolos made the diving save in the 43rd minute.
Santa Clara, the West Coast Conference champions, was the aggressor in the first half. The Broncos out-shot Arkansas 7-2, including four on goal. Warner came up with a couple of diving saves to keep the Razorbacks close. She finished with five saves in the contest.
The Razorbacks, who earned a first-round bye, never trailed in winning their second-round match 3-1 over Utah Valley earlier in the week. Goins had two goals in that victory.
Arkansas was making its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh in eight years under Coach Colby Hale. The Razorbacks claimed a SEC regular-season championship, but lost in the SEC Tournament final to Vanderbilt in the fall.