Jerry Smith gushes with pride when he talks about the accomplishments of the Santa Clara women's soccer team in 1999.

He raves about the Broncos' first win over perennial powerhouse North Carolina. He talks about Santa Clara's fourth consecutive Final Four appearance as a landmark achievement for the program.

BRONCOS BUCK TRENDS IN '99

After all this time, maybe Jerry Smith was right. Smith, coach of the Santa Clara women's soccer team, has often said that even though his teams have played competitive matches against perennial powerhouse North Carolina, the Broncos were at a disadvantage due to incomparable scholarship money. "People overlook the fact that North Carolina has more scholarship money than we do," said Smith, whose Broncos went 0-13 and were outscored 36-8 against the Tar Heels from 1989-98. "But I've always said that we'll trade wins with North Carolina the first time we offered the same number of scholarships as them." In 1999, both programs offered 12 full scholarships, and for the first time in 10 years, Santa Clara notched its first win over the Tar Heels, who lost 1-0 on an own goal. In the past, the most scholarships Santa Clara had to offer was nine. According to Smith, that means a "difference of four, five or six really good players." And even though Smith said the Broncos had played better games against the Tar Heels -- anybody remember their semifinal match at the 1997 Final Four? -- the win "broke down the Broncos' psychological barrier" and brought them "over the hump." "North Carolina still wins so many games because teams don't believe they can beat them," said Smith, whose Broncos have suffered five one-goal losses to UNC. "Some teams are beat before the game even kicks off. We're no longer one of those teams." Smith sees Santa Clara moving in the right direction in other areas as well, especially since three Broncos -- Santa Clara grads Brandi Chastain and Nikki Serlenga and current defender Danielle Slaton -- have earned spots on the U.S. Olympic women's soccer team. "I hope it sends a message to younger kids out there," Smith said. "In the past, there was one school kids went to if they wanted to be on the U.S. national team. But players like Nikki and Danielle, who wanted to play for the national team, decided to come here and not play for North Carolina. It was a tough decision, and I'm proud of them for that. It speaks a lot about the training environment we have here. "And although we haven't won a national championship, I'm very confident I'm more proud of our players who have made the Olympic team than I'd be if we had won the national championship."

Things are so good for Smith that he even shrugs off the fact the Broncos haven't suffered a regular-season loss in more than two years, including a perfect 21-0 mark in 1999.

But there is one thing Smith fails to mention -- a national championship.

It's not that he's avoiding the subject. He just feels all those achievements have the Broncos' program knocking on the door.

"Even though we didn't play in the (national) final, we clearly raised the bar," Smith said. "It's like the standard of living. Once you've driven a certain car or lived in a house, you don't want to go backwards. So you work your butt off to at least maintain it if not improve.

"We've set the Santa Clara standard."

Last season, that standard included outscoring foes 105-11, notching regular-season wins over Notre Dame and Nebraska (in addition to UNC), and running up a 43-game regular-season unbeaten streak. Last year's top scorer, Mandy Clemens, also swept national player of the year honors.

On paper, the Broncos could be considered one of the season's best teams again this year. Despite graduating five starters -- including Clemens, who tallied 24 goals and 23 assists in 1999 -- Smith said the Broncos have the potential to be as good as last season's team -- with one exception.

"The team is not going to be a whole lot different from last season except that we don't have the depth," he said. "But we had a number of players who even though they weren't starters for us last year, would have started for just about anybody else. And they're anxious to prove we're not rebuilding but reloading and ready to go after it again."

Smith cautions that the 'reloading' might bring about a short period of transition.

"I don't have to worry about us peaking too early," he said. "We won't be playing our best soccer anytime in the next six to eight weeks."

The slow start -- if Santa Clara has one -- could be attributed to injuries and absence. Junior defender Danielle Slaton, the only collegian on the U.S. Olympic women's soccer team, will miss the first half of the season while she competes for gold at the Sydney Games. Sophomore midfielder Aly Wagner, the last player cut from the 1999 U.S. Women's World Cup roster, was sidelined with a hamstring injury to her right leg throughout the Broncos' two-a-day preseason training, and according to Smith, might miss games early in the season.

"With Danielle, we're not only losing a good player, but a good player from a position where most teams don't have any depth," Smith said of Slaton, a left back. "Even the best teams are consistently weak at left back because it's hard to find a naturally left-footed player who can defend at a high level and attack out of the back. Danielle can do both."

Wagner adds a lot of attacking as well. Wagner netted three goals for the Under-21 U.S. national team as the squad went 3-0-1 to win the Nordic Cup in Germany earlier this month. Wagner, who suffered the hamstring injury while in Germany, also has notched 16 caps with the U.S. senior national team. She tallied 10 goals and 12 assists for the Broncos last season as one of the team's best playmakers.

"Aly is an unbelievably gifted player with the ball," Smith said. "She can handle the rock. She can dish it, score, dribble, pass. She has a wonderful repertoire of attacking ability."

Still, from the defense to the forward line, Smith counts on every one of his players, including last season's backup goalkeeper Alice Gleason. Smith subbed Gleason into the game with North Carolina at halftime as the Broncos clutched to a 1-0 lead after the Tar Heels scored an own goal in the 18th minute.

"We have the luxury of not worrying about reaching the NCAA playoffs," said Smith, whose team hasn't suffered a regular-season loss since Oct. 31, 1997. "So we use the regular season not to try and get a great record, but to try and find out where are weaknesses are. We know we have some, so let's figure them out."

Smith is anxious to figure out what incoming freshman midfielder Veronica Zepeda brings to the college game. The 18-year-old Riverside, Calif., native was one of just four high school players brought into the U.S. national team's residential training camp over the summer. Zepeda also competed with the U-21 national team, and was Wagner's teammate at the Nordic Cup, where Zepeda also tallied a goal.

"With the addition of Veronica and a healthy Aly Wagner, plus getting Danielle and her leadership back after the Olympics, will mean we'll have a real tough team to beat at the end of the year," Smith said. "It might take us a little longer to come together, and I expect a few hiccups between (preseason) and the playoffs, but that's OK. By the end of the year, we'll hopefully be a tough team to beat.

"This group doesn't want to be the group that lowers that standard. We set it at the highest level last year, and it's up to this year's team, this year's seniors to say that's the Santa Clara standard, and we'll do what we have to do to maintain it."

Melanie Jackson is the college sports editor at ESPN.com.