Sept. 3, 2006
Stanford, Calif. - The Stanford women's soccer team extended its undefeated streak against Cal Poly this afternoon, as the squad topped the Mustangs, 2-0, in front of a home crowd of 561. The win improves the Cardinal to 2-2, and marked the second-straight shutout for the team. Cal Poly drops to an even 2-2 with the loss.
The match began with solid defense on both sides, as the two back lines traded possession for nearly ten minutes and denied each other chances to get in the box. In the 15th minute, however, Stanford finally got the ball deep into Mustang territory and began the offensive attack that would last until the final horn.
Sophomore Kelley Birch found an opening in the middle and sent a hard shot off of a Cal Poly defender. Hillary Heath collected the rebound and was fouled just outside the box. Heath launched a hard drive towards the top right corner of the net on her free kick, but the ball was deflected at the last second by Mustang goalkeeper Alli Tramel. Just over a minute later, Stanford was back. Senior Shari Summers' shot from the middle was blocked, and, as she attempted to recover the ball she was taken down hard in the box. On her ensuing penalty kick, Summers calmly sent a drive to the back of the net. The goal was the seventh of Summers' career and her second of the weekend.
With a 1-0 lead, Stanford continued to put pressure on the Cal Poly defense. Three minutes after Summers' goal, the Cardinal earned an indirect free kick from the right side of the box. Summers drove a pass to the middle, where Lizzy George and Rachel Buehler were waiting. Both Cardinal players took quick shots from close range, but were denied by Tramel and her defense.
The Stanford back line held the Mustangs out of Cardinal territory for most of the first half. Cal Poly's only shot of the period was a long drive in the 32nd minute by freshman Kaleena Andruss, which sailed far left of the net. Stanford went into the break with just a one-goal lead, but had out-shot the Mustangs 11 to 1.
Immediately after the restart, Stanford was back on the attack. Freshman Alicia Jenkins collected a cross from fellow freshman Ali Riley and slipped by a Mustang defender. Jenkins took a hard shot from the middle, but the attempt sailed high. In the 77th minute, sophomore Lea MacKinnon had a chance on a breakaway, but her deep shot went wide.
In the final ten minutes of the half, Cal Poly made a sudden push for the equalizer. Sophomore Ashley Vallis broke through the Stanford defense and created a 2-on-1 situation with teammate Kelsey Carroll and Stanford goalkeeper Alex Gamble. Vallis crossed the ball in front of the net, but a diving Gamble prevented Carroll from getting a foot on it.
The late scare sent the Cardinal back into action. On the next run down the field, MacKinnon found Jenkins in front of the net. The freshman sent a hard shot to the right side, which deflected off the Cal Poly goalkeeper and into the net. The goal was the first of Jenkins' short career, and the second of the weekend by a Cardinal freshman.
Stanford out-shot the Mustangs 15-3 and, in the team's second shutout of the weekend, prevented Cal Poly from getting a single shot on frame. Summers led the Cardinal with five shots, while Jenkins and sophomore Allison Falk had two apiece.
"It was a hard-fought victory and a significant win against a very strong team," said Cardinal Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe.
The Cardinal continues play on the road next weekend, traveling east to face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Long Island Blackbirds. The meeting with Rutgers is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. (ET) in Piscataway, NJ. The neutral site meeting with Long Island with take place on Sunday at noon (ET).