Nov. 1, 2001
Boone, N.C. - No. 20 Stanford (10-7) advanced to the semifinals of the NorPac Tournament with a 2-1 victory over Radford (6-15) in a first round game tournament game at Kidd Brewer Stadium on Thursday. Senior Erica Swesey tallied the game-winning goal when she scored unassisted with 21:15 remaining in the second half. Stanford has now won seven of its last eight games.
"The entire team and especially the five seniors on this club want a good ending (to our career)," said Swesey. "We want to win this tournament and get a chance to play the NCAA Play-In Game on our field next Tuesday."
"The seniors played really well," added Stanford head coach Sheryl Johnson. "They want to keep playing. This is obviously a very important tournament for them."
The Cardinal will play Southwest Missouri State in a semifinal game on Friday, November 2 (11:30 a.m., ET). The Bears defeated Davidson, 3-0, in a first round game on Saturday. The Stanford-Southwest Missouri State game will be a rematch of last year's semifinal contest between the clubs when the Cardinal came away with a 1-0 overtime victory on its way to the 2000 NorPac Tournament title. No. 17 California, the top seed from the NorPac West Division and in the bracket opposite Stanford, survived a scare from Davidson (No. 4 East) on Tuesday before prevailing 5-4 in double overtime in another first round game. Host Appalachian State (#2 East) plays Pacific (#3 West) in the final first round game on Thursday evening (8:00 p.m., ET).
Stanford and California tied for the regular season NorPac West Division title with identical 5-1 league records after splitting their season series. Southwest Missouri State (6-0 NorPac) swept through the NorPac's East Division to gain the top seed from the East in the NorPac Tournament.
Stanford's Amrit Chima gave the Cardinal a 1-0 lead in today's contest when she scored with 19:12 remaining in the first half on assists from Swesey and Sara Herman.
Radford tied the contest shortly afterward when Jammie Hillian scored on an assist from Marie Petran with 17:18 to go in the first half.
Stanford outshot Radford, 13-7. Radford goalkeeper Brooke Peterson managed a game-high nine saves, while Stanford goalkeeper Rebecca Shapiro had two.
The Cardinal is looking to defend the NorPac Tournament title the club won in 2000 and capture the event for the third time in its four-year history. The winner of the NorPac Tournament will host an NCAA Play-In Game on Tuesday, November 6.