Nov. 2, 2002
Berkeley, Calif. - The top-ranked Stanford women's soccer team rallied from an early 1-0 Golden Bear lead to pick up its seventh Pac-10 win to defeat California 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at Edwards Stadium. Marcia Wallis (Los Gatos, CA) scored both goals for the Cardinal as they improve to 16-1-0 overall and remain at the top of the conference with a 7-0 mark.
Cal senior forward Laura Schott led the Golden Bears to a 1-0 lead with a goal in the second minute. Schott collected a pass from Brittany Kirk and directed it with her knee over the outstretched arms of Stanford's keeper Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, PA). Cal's goal marks only the fourth goal and the first in Pac-10 play that the Cardinal have surrendered all season, also ending their streak of seven consecutive shutout victories.
Stanford could not muster a shot for the first 21 minutes of the game, but its first shot resulted in the first of two goals from Wallis. The Cardinal earned a corner kick, with Marcie Ward (Alamo, CA) playing a short kick to teammate Kelsey Carlson (Citrus Heights, CA). Carlson then played the ball to Natalie Spilger (El Cajon, CA) who made a touch pass, setting up Wallis for a two-yard near post score.
The Cardinal kept the pressure on and just over ten minutes later, Wallis tallied her second goal of the game and eighth of the season on a one-on-one opportunity. At 32:54 Wallis' first two shot attempts were saved by Cal goalkeeper Sani Post, but her third shot she nailed into the open net to give Stanford the 2-1 advantage.
Stanford had another scoring opportunity in the 36th minute when Ward played a ball to Natalie Sanderson (Ventura, CA). Sanderson fired a shot, but the Cal keeper made a great diving save.
Callie Withers (Los Altos Hills, CA) nearly scored on a free kick in the 70th minute, but her header sailed wide. Stanford clamped down on defense the remainder of the game, allowing four second half shots. Cal had two scoring opportunities in the final 13 minutes of the game, but Tracy Hamm and Sierra Garthwaite's shot were both wide of the goal.
For the game, Stanford held a 12-9 shot advantage, with eight of the Cardinal's attempts coming from Wallis. Barnhart picked up three saves in goal for Stanford.
The Cardinal will play their final two Pac-10 games on Maloney Field next weekend against Arizona State and Arizona. Stanford will face the Sun Devils on Friday (Nov. 8) at 5 p.m. and the Wildcats on Sunday (Nov. 10) at 1 p.m. With one more win, Stanford can clinch at least a share of the conference title.
No. 1 Stanford --- 2-0--2
California --- 1-0--1
Scoring Summary --- CAL: Schott (Kirk), 1:42; STAN: Wallis (Carlson, Spilger), 21:30; STAN: Wallis, 32:54.
Shots: Stanford 12, Cal 9
Saves: Stanford 3, Cal 5
Corners: Stanford 5, Cal 2
Fouls: Stanford 19, Cal 22
Records: Stanford 16-1-0 (7-0 Pac-10), Cal 9-7-1 (2-5 Pac-10)