Sept. 10, 2006
Piscataway, NJ - The Stanford women's soccer team cruised past the Long Island Blackbirds this afternoon, and picked up its fourth-straight victory. The 4-0 decision marked the fourth shutout in four games for the Cardinal, as the team has now outscored opponents 10-0 in its last four matches. Stanford completed its East Coast sweep and improves to 4-2 with the win. The Blackbirds, who were coming off of an 8-0 win over Delaware State on Wednesday, drop to 2-4.
Two strong defensive units battled early in the match, denying each other a single shot for more than 20 minutes of play. At the 21-minute mark, however, Cardinal junior Lizzy George made the first shot of the match count, sending a header past Blackbird goalkeeper Stephanie Kansky. Senior Rachel Buehler set up the play, sending a free kick to Allison Falk in front of the net. Falk headed the ball across the net to George, who knocked it into the right corner and gave the Cardinal a 1-0 advantage. The goal was the second of the season for George and the tenth of her career.
George's goal opened up the flood gates for the Cardinal offense and the team never looked back. Stanford went on to out-shoot Long Island 16-1 and post its largest victory in two years.
After the opening goal, Stanford was immediately back on the attack, as freshman Ali Riley came back with a shot on goal just nine seconds after the restart. The Cardinal continued to press the Long Island back line, and at the 26:18 mark, Riley sent a shot off the head of a LIU defender and into the goal.
Less than ten minutes later, freshman Kelley O'Hara, in just her second match in a Cardinal uniform, sent in a drive from 20 yards out to extend the Cardinal lead to three. Sophomore Lea MacKinnon, played the ball to O'Hara outside the box, and the newcomer drove it to the top right corner of the net. MacKinnon's assist was her third of the season, the highest total on the Cardinal squad.
Stanford finished the half with a three-goal cushion, having out-shot the Blackbirds 6-0.
The Cardinal offense resumed its attack in the second period, with two more shots within a minute of the restart and four more within the first ten minutes. At the 64:10 mark, freshman Kristin Stannard's 7-yard drive found the back of the net, after the midfielder collected a pass from sophomore Hillary Heath. The goal was the second of Stannard's career and the sixth by a Cardinal freshman this season.
Long Island's only shot of the match came in the 48th minute, when an Aly Hanson drive was saved by Cardinal goalkeeper Erica Holland.
Stanford had no trouble finding the frame in the match, as 14 of the 17 Cardinal shots were on target. The Stanford defense held its fourth-straight opponent scoreless and limited the Blackbirds to a single shot.
"I think it was a great day and a we played a great game," said Stanford Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe. "We did an excellent job protecting the ball and defending the net. This sets us up for a great tournament next weekend at home."
Stanford returns to the Farm to host the annual Stanford Nike Invitational next weekend at Maloney Field, which includes the Cardinal, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 24 Boston University and No. 4 Santa Clara. Action kicks off Friday night with a meeting between Santa Clara and Boston University at 5 p.m. The Cardinal will take on Tennessee at 7:30 p.m.