Boston University pulled off the biggest upset in the history of its women's program when it beat No. 3 Santa Clara, 1-0, Friday night at the Stanford Nike Classic.

Sophomore Marisha Schumacher-Hodge  fed senior Lauren Erwin, who scored with a blast from 15 yards for the game's only goal in the 63rd minute. Senior goalie Stephanie Dreyer made five saves, including a crucial stop on Santa Clara’s Brittany Klein.

“We approached the game like any other,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “We were confident and stuck to our game plan in how we wanted to play and defend. We have a lot of respect for Santa Clara. They are a great team with great players.”

Senior goalie Stephanie Dreyer made five saves in the shutout and was seriously tested in the first half when Santa Clara’s Brittany Klein one-timed a shot that forced Dreyer to make a crucial save.

BU defeated ranked Boston College (1-0) to open the 2006 season and upset Connecticut (1-0 in overtime) in the 2005 NCAA tournament.

Friday night featured a rash of upsets.

Cal State Fullerton made No. 7 Texas A&M pay with a 2-1 victory on a pair with counter-attacking goals by midfielder Lauryn Welch in front of 2,653 fans at the Aggie Soccer Stadium. Fullerton goalkeeper, Karen Bardsley made 12 saves, while the Fullerton defense cleared two more Aggie attempts off the goal line.

No. 15 California dropped a 1-0 decision to Ohio State on the first day of the Ohio State Invitational. Jenna Greenwood netted what held up as the game-winning goal for Ohio State in the 15th minute when she tapped in the rebound of Laura Dickenmann's long-range shot. With their first loss of 2006, the Golden Bears fell to 4-1-2, while the Buckeyes improved to 3-2-1.

Central Michigan moved to 7-0-0 when the Chippewas rallied for two goals by freshman Stephanie Martin to beat No. 16 Nebraska, 2-1, on the road. The Cornhuskers also fell from the unbeaten ranks with the loss.

Brown upset 17th-ranked Boston College, 2-1, to snap BC's four-game winning streak. The Bears won thanks to early goals by Kerrilynn Carney on a header in the 7th minute and Kathryn Moos in the 12th minute.

Pepperdine rallied from one-goal down at halftime to beat No. 18 Kansas, 3-1, on the road. Jennifer Brewer started the comeback with a shot from 45 yards. Kelly Reilly and McKenzie Hill scored the other Wave goals.

No. 22 Duke fell to Florida, 1-0, on Ameera Abdullah's goal in the 4th minute. The Gators took the game to the Blue Devils in the first half of the Duke adidas Classic match, then absorbed all kinds of pressure in the second half.

No. 25 Utah dropped the opener of its two-game Midwestern road trip, falling to Purdue, 2-0. The Boilermakers (7-1-1) got a pair of goals from Parrissa Eyorokon in the first 18 minutes and held off a furious Utah attack the rest of the way.

OTHER WOMEN'S ACTION

Brittany Bock and Michele Weissenhofer combined for three goals and three assists to lead a strong day from Notre Dame's six Chicago-area natives, as the No. 2 Irish improved to 7-0-0 with a 5-0 win at DePaul. Kerri Hanks and Lizzie Reed each chipped in a goal and assist for Notre Dame.

Marquette held No. 5 North Carolina off the scoreboard for more than 73 minutes, but goals by Yael Averbuch and Whitney Engen in the final 17 minutes lifted Carolina (7-1) to a 2-0 win over the Golden Eagles at the Duke adidas Classic.

Freshman forward Lauren Cheney broke up a scoreless tie in the 63rd minute, helping fourth-ranked UCLA to a 1-0 victory over Cal State Northridge at Drake Stadium. With the win, UCLA extends its winning streak to six in a row, improving to 6-1 overall.  Cheney has scored in all three matches that she has appeared in this season.

Villanova has established the best start in program history after beating Georgetown, 3-0. The win marks the first time the Wildcats have ever won eight straight games. Villanova posted its fifth consecutive shutout victory and extended its scoreless defensive streak to 500 minutes.

Annie Galloway's goal in the 46th minute of play was enough to lift South Carolina to a 1-0 victory over Clemson at Stone Stadium in front of the largest crowd in USC women's soccer history with 2,823 fans in attendance.