Sept. 30, 2005
Box Score | Rachel Buehler Feature
Stanford, Calif. - In front of the eighth largest crowd at a women's soccer game at Maloney Field tonight, the un-ranked Stanford Cardinal topped No. 5 Santa Clara, 1-0. With 1,718 Bay Area fans in the stadium, Stanford improved to 5-3-1 on the season, as sophomore Rachel Buehler netted her first collegiate goal to put the Cardinal ahead in the 24th minute. The Broncos drop to 8-2-1 on the year.
"I think the Santa Clara-Stanford rivalry is huge and this is definitely a significant win for us," noted head coach Paul Ratcliffe after the match. "Our team showed great character, this was a hard-fought win."
Buehler picked up her first goal after a Stanford free kick put the ball into the box. In a scramble, Allison Falk got the ball to Buehler, who found the back of the net from eight yards out.
With one minute and ten seconds left in the first half, Santa Clara nearly tied the game, but the goal was overruled as an off-sides penalty was called on the Broncos.
Despite a 1-0 lead at halftime, the Cardinal did not let up. Stanford took four shots in the second half and kept the game even for the remainder. Freshman keeper Alex Gamble picked up two saves in the third shutout of her career.
"This was really exciting," commented Gamble after the victory. "In high school, you hear a lot about Santa Clara, to be able to get a win over them and to be a part of it is amazing."
With the win, Stanford improves to 7-17-4 against Santa Clara. It is the first Cardinal victory over the Broncos since the 2002 squad posted a 3-0 victory over SCU in the season opener.
The Stanford Nike Invitational will continue on Sunday, as Santa Clara faces off against Oakland at 11 a.m., and Stanford takes on Colorado College at 1:30 p.m.
| 1 | 2 | = | F | |
| Santa Clara (8-2-1) | 0 | 0 | = | 0 |
| Stanford (5-3-1) | 1 | 0 | = | 1 |
Scoring Summary: STAN: Rachel Buehler (Allison Falk), 23:59
Saves: Alex Gamble (Stanford) 2, Julie Ryder (SCU) 3
Shots: Stanford 6, Santa Clara 9
Corners: Stanford 0, Santa Clara 5
Fouls: Stanford 35, Santa Clara 20