Santa Clara women’s soccer re-tools 2024 roster with six high level transfers
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara women’s soccer has added six transfers for the 2024 season. Shira Elinav (Kansas), Caroline Gray (Notre Dame), Kat Jordan (Columbia), Kennedy Schoennauer (Utah), Marissa Vasquez (San Francisco), and Eva Wirtz (Notre Dame) are the newest members of the Bronco program.
Earlier this year, the Broncos announced the transfer of Tori Powell from Virginia Tech. She has been with the team since winter quarter.
Shira Elinav | F | 5-6 | Mazkeret Batya, Israel | Shefayim High School | Kansas
As a senior at Kansas, Elinav appeared in nine matches with seven starts after missing the first nine games of the year with an injury. She was named Academic All-Big 12 First Team for her work in the classroom.
Elinav led the Jayhawks in goals (8) and shots (45) and tied for the most points (20) and shots on goal (22) while tying for second in assists (4) as a junior. She appeared in all 20 matches, including starting the final 18. She was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on October 4 and was Academic All-District and Academic All-Big 12 First Team.
During her sophomore campaign, Elinav started six matches while appearing in 17 and scoring four goals with two assists. She was Academic All-Big 12 First Team.
Elinav played in 13 matches with four starts as a freshman and was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team.
A member of the Israel Women’s National Team, Elinav has collected 17 caps in her international career and has two goals and one assist for her country. She started for Israel in its World Cup qualifier on September 19, 2021 vs. Portugal.
She is in camp with the National Team from May 28 to June 5. They will play a par of games against Scotland and Elinav will spend more time with the team over the summer and play two more games in July.
Elinav spent five years on Israel’s Youth national Teams where she scored 11 times in 24 matches. She was called up to the country’s senior national squad in 2019 for six EURO qualifiers.
A member of F.C. Ramat Hasharon, Elinav helped lead the squad to a league championship in 2019-20.
Caroline Gray | D | 5-9 | Johns Creek, Ga. | St. Pius X High School | Notre Dame
During the 2023 season, Gray appeared in nine matches while helping Notre Dame to a 16-6 goal aggregate in those games.
As a junior, she played in 14 matches at defender and midfielder and registered her first career assist. That season Gray was named to the ACC All-Academic Team.
Gray played in 21 games as a sophomore as the primary midfield sub while also seeing time at center back.
In her freshman campaign, Gray saw action in nine matches and made four starts.
On the club side, Gray’s team the Concorde Fire were state champions (2017 & 2019) where she played with current Bronco Lucy Mitchell. The team were ECNL Nationals qualifiers at the U14, U15, and U17 levels while making it to the semifinals with the U14s. The team were DA National Qualifiers as U16s and ECNL Southeastern Conference Champions as U17s. That season she was named ECNL Southeast All-Conference. Gray was also a three-time club co-captain (U15-17).
Kat Jordan | M | 5-8 | Sarasota, Fla. | Pine View High School | Columbia
Jordan started all 19 games for the Lions last year and led the team with nine goals and 20 points while adding two assists. She was named First Team All-Ivy League for her performance and No. 77 for 2023 Women’s National Top 100 Collegiate Player Rankings Postseason on Top Drawer Soccer.
As a junior she appeared in 13 games with five starts while scoring a goal and adding two assists.
She did not compete as a sophomore and her freshman season was canceled due to COVID-19.
Before her college career, Jordan played club with ECNL Tampa Bay United who were 2019 ECNL national runners-up and she was a 2019 ECNL National Camp selection. Jordan was a four-time ECNL Southeast Conference Player to Watch.
Jordan was also a U.S. Soccer National Training Center selection from 2013-17.
She piled up awards during her high school career, including: 2020 State All-Star Team, 2020 All-Star Classic MVP, 2020 Monteverde WIST All-Tournament Team, 2019 District Champions and Regional Runner-Up, 2019 Best of HT Preps Player of the Year, 2019 and 20 Best of HT Preps All-Area First Team, 2019 Best of HT Preps 2019 Sun All-Area Player of the Year, 2019 and 2020 Sun All-Area First Team.
In the classroom, Jordan was an AP Scholar with Honors and a member of the National Honor Society.
Kennedy Schoennauer | F | San Jose, Calif. | Abraham Lincoln High School | Utah
Schoennauer made 16 starts while appearing in 19 matches last year for Utah. She tied for the team lead with four assists and added a goal en route to Pac-12 All-Freshman honors.
At the club level, Schoennauer spent three years with MVLA and helped the team reach the Elite Clubs National League round of 16. She was named ECNL Northwest Conference First Team in 2021.
A two-time MVP of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Schoennauer twice led the CCS in goals while scoring 112 times to go with 240 points in her first three seasons. She helped her team with the CCA Division II Championship while also picking up First Team All-League nods three seasons in a row and an All-Region First Team selection. Schoennauer was also named the CCS Freshman of the Year.
Marissa Vasquez | M | 5-3 | Diamond Bar, Calif. | Diamond Bar High School | San Francisco
The WCC Midfielder of the Year, Vasquez was also named First Team All-WCC last season after starting 17 matches and leading the Dons with seven goals and adding one assist.
As a junior, Vasquez started all 19 games and recorded a hat trick in the nonconference season. She ended the year with seven goals and 14 points and was First Team All-WCC.
Vasquez had four goals and three assists as a sophomore while starting 18 matches and was named All-WCC Second Team.
Her freshman season saw her score two goals with one assist in 10 starts while being named All-WCC honorable mention and All-Freshman.
Eva Wirtz | D | 5-10 | Atlanta | Marist High School | Notre Dame
Wirtz played in five games with two starts as a senior at Notre Dame where the Fighting Irish went 4-0-1.
She played in three of the team’s first four games a junior before a season-ending injury.
As a sophomore, Wirtz started all 22 games on the back line to help the team to a 0.96 GAA. She also collected her first career assist that season.
Wirtz played in 11 games with two starts as a freshman.
Writz’s club team Tophat DA was an ECNL national qualifier in 2018.
Her high school team was 2018 Georgia State Champions and runners-up in 2017 while she twice took home All-State and All-Region honors. She was named Defensive MVP as both a sophomore and junior in high school.
Wirtz was a member of the Olympic Development Program from 2013-17 and was in the 2017 ODP Region Pool.
