Texas Tech Athletics
RV Santa Clara
No. 18 Tech, RV Santa Clara, set for Thursday showdown
August 20, 2025 | Women's Soccer
The Red Raiders and Broncos will meet for the first time in program history
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Fresh a perfect 2-0-0 start to the 2025 season, No. 18 Texas Tech Soccer returns to California this weekend for a two-match road weekend starting Thursday night against RV Santa Clara. First touch from Stevens Stadium at Buck Shaw Field is set for 9:30 p.m. (CT)/7:30 p.m. (PT).
And while Thursday's matchup will be the first all-time between Tom Stone and Jerry Smith, the two coaches have long been friends dating back to Stone's club days in Colorado when Smith recruited multiple Real Colorado players to Santa Clara and when the coach served as a scout for the US Women's National Team.
Thursday's match will also be a bit of a homecoming for graduate student Chloe Japic, as the Palto Alto native grew up less than 20 miles from the Santa Clara campus.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
MATCHUP: No. 18 Texas Tech (2-0-0) at RV Santa Clara (1-1-0)
DATE: Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025
TIME: 9:30 p.m. (CT)/7:30 p.m. (PT)
LOCATION: Santa Clara, Calif. (Stevens Stadium at Buck Shaw Field)
BY THE NUMBERS:
26: Boasting one of the nations top defensive units the last two seasons, the Red Raiders enter the 2025 season having recorded 26 clean sheets since the start of the 2023 season. After recording 13 total shutouts in 23 matches in 2023, the Red Raiders followed it up with 12 shutouts in 22 matches in 2024. The Red Raiders are 31-2-6 the last two seasons when allowing a goal or fewer (losses to UT 1-0 in 2023 and to UNC 1-0 in 2023). Tech was 15-0-2 last season when allowing a goal or fewer.
2: While putting the ball in the back of the net is the name of the game, scoring twice has been critical for the Red Raiders success as since the start of the 2022 season, the Red Raiders are now 36-0-1 (lone tie at No. 7 BYU in 2023) when scoring two goals. When you expand that mark out to the beginning of the 2021 season, Tech is 45-2-1 when scoring twice in a match.
20: In the first weekly awards of the 2025 season, the Red Raiders were well represented as defender Macy Blackburn and forward Taylor Zdrojewski took home Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week. The awards mark the 19th and 20th weekly awards by a Red Raider since the start of the 2023 season. The 20 are eight more than second place OSU, who have won 12 weekly awards since 2023.
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QUICK KICKS:
• Riding high after an eight goal week and a pair of victories over San Diego State (4-0) and Youngstown State (4-1), Texas Tech hits the road for the first two-game road weekend of the season when they head to RV Santa Clara (Thursday) and San Francisco (Sunday).
• The Red Raiders double-road weekend will mark the lone double-road weekend of non-conference play and one of just multiple road weekends this season. The Red Raiders like all Big 12 member schools will play one double-road weekend during Big 12 play this October when they head to Arizona State (Oct. 16) and Arizona (Oct. 19).
• Returning to the State of California for the second-straight weekend, the Red Raiders will face Santa Clara for the first time in program history on Thursday night.
• The weekend will continue on Sunday afternoon against San Francisco for what will be the second all-time meeting between the two schools. The Red Raiders defeated the Dons, 1-0 in 2017 in double overtime in the lone meeting.
• After the 2-0-0 week, Tech saw a pair of players earn weekly All-Big 12 honors as defender Macy Blackburn and forward Taylor Zdrojewski earned Big 12 Defensive and Offensive Player of the week in the first iteration of the leagues weekly awards. The honors were the 19th and 20th by a Red Raider since the start of the 2023 season.
• That is the most in the Big 12 Conference and is eight more selections than Oklahoma State who has 12 over that span.
• The Red Raiders two road matches this weekend continues a stretch of a three of the first four contests away from Walker and a span of four of six on the road including road contests against New Mexico State (Sept. 4). The Red Raiders play just three of their first eight contests at home (SMU on Aug. 28 and Utah State on Sept. 14).
• Tech enters the weekend trip to the Bay Area riding a six-match road winning streak and a seven-match unbeaten streak on the road in the regular season dating back to an Aug. 25, 2024 setback to Utah State, 2-0.
• The winning streak includes the road win over San Diego State last week, a double-road weekend sweep over Cincinnati and West Virginia as well as road wins at Houston, Kansas State and Oklahoma State.
• Since the start of the 2023 season, the Red Raiders are 9-4-4 on the road with two of those losses coming against Texas on the road in the Big 12 Tournament and to No. 1 Duke last season in the NCAA Tournament.
UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders close out the two-match road trip on Sunday afternoon against San Francisco. First touch from Negoesco Stadium is set for 1 p.m. (CT)/11 a.m. (PT).
