Oct. 13, 2006
Stanford, Calif. - The Stanford women's soccer team picked up its first Pac-10 win tonight, with a 3-2 victory over Arizona State at Maloney Field. In front of its largest home crowd of the season, the Cardinal battled back from a first half deficit and sealed the win with a game-winner by sophomore Hillary Heath in the 54th minute. Stanford improves to 8-5-1 overall and 1-1-1 in the Pac-10 with the win, while the Sun Devils fall to 5-6-2, 0-3-0.
The Cardinal got its first opportunity in the fifth minute, when Kristin Stannard found Kelley O'Hara breaking into the right side of the box. O'Hara had a one-on-one chance with the ASU goalkeeper but her shot went wide to the left. A minute later, Stannard took a shot of her own, sending a ball on the ground toward the left corner of the net, but Sun Devil goalkeeper Kim Bingham was there to make her first of eight saves on the night.
In the 15th minute, Shari Summers gathered up a loose ball just outside the box and sent a shot on the ground to the right corner, but Bingham made a diving save to keep the Cardinal off the board. In the 26th minute, Allison Falk had a good look at the net but her shot missed just wide. On the ensuing corner kick, Lea MacKinnon served the ball back to Falk, and this time the sophomore knocked the ball right on target. The goal, scored at the 25:37 mark, was the first of her career.
The Sun Devils responded quickly, however. In the 29th minute, the team earned a free kick from the far side of the box, and freshman Carly Kallas connected on a diving header from the right side of the goal to knot the match at 1-1.
In the 31st minute, Stanford had a chance to take back the lead, when MacKinnon found Lizzy George on the right side, but George's blast went wide left. Seven minutes later, the Sun Devils took advantage of their second shot of the game, as freshman Dante Perea put a shot past Stanford goalkeeper Alex Gamble from the middle of the box.
Stanford took four more shots before halftime, but was unable to net the equalizer. The Cardinal went into the break having out-shot the Sun Devils, 10-3, but trailed 2-1.
In the second half, Stanford wasted no time going on the attack. Just over five minutes in, Ali Riley sent a ball from the right side to O'Hara. The freshman forward connected and one-touched the ball to the back of the net from close range, bringing the match into a 2-2 tie. The goal was the fourth for O'Hara this season.
Less than three minutes later, the Cardinal struck again. Marisa Abegg found Heath in the middle, and the sophomore sent the ball to the upper left corner of the net for her second goal and first game-winner of the season.
Stanford took five corner kicks and seven more shots before the final horn, and managed to hold the Sun Devils to just one second half look at the goal. The physical contest consisted of 47 total fouls, with Stanford committing 24 and ASU committing 23. Overall, Stanford out-shot the Sun Devils 22-4, and for the 11th time this season, held an opponent to two shots on goal or less. Junior goalkeeper Erica Holland entered the match in the second half, and earned her first win of the season for the Cardinal.
"We made it much harder than it should have been tonight," said Stanford Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe. "I'm glad that we got the result and I'm proud of my team for showing that they can battle."
Stanford returns to the field for more Pac-10 action on Sunday afternoon, taking on the Arizona Wildcats. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at Maloney Field.