Oct. 6, 2006
Los Angeles, Calif. - In its first Pac-10 match of 2006, the Stanford women's soccer team out-shot the USC Trojans, but was unable to break a 0-0 deadlock and pick up the win. Stanford shutout an opponent for the eighth time this season, and now stands 7-4-1, 0-0-1. USC was shutout for just the third time this year, and now stands 7-2-2, 0-0-1.
Stanford took the first four shots of the contest, all within the first 21 minutes of action. In the 14th minute, senior Shari Summers' attempt was blocked by the Trojan defense. Two minutes later, freshman Kelley O'Hara had a look, but her shot sailed over the goal. Sophomore Marisa Abegg sent a header wide in the 18th minute, and sophomore Kelley Birch missed wide in the 21st minute. Janessa Currier and Stacey Strong took shots for the Trojans before the break, but the Cardinal successfully kept USC off the board. Alex Gamble made her only save of the match in 44th minute, gathering up Strong's shot to keep the score tied at the break.
In the second half, Stanford took three shots to the Trojans' two, but neither team could find the back of the net. Abegg took Stanford's only shot on frame in the 78th minute, but her drive was saved by Trojan goalkeeper Veronica Simonton. With the clock winding down, Stanford earned a corner kick and attempted to net the game-winner. Freshman Kristin Stannard took the kick and found Rachel Buehler in front of the net, but the senior's header went wide.
In the first overtime period, Summers and Stannard registered shots for the Cardinal but neither was on target. In the second overtime period, Ashley Nick had a look at the goal for USC and O'Hara took a shot for the Cardinal, but both attempts missed the frame.
The Cardinal finished with ten shots to the Trojans five, but the score remained knotted at zero. Stanford has now out-shot its last 11 opponents.
Gamble posted her fifth shutout of the year, and the Stanford defense allowed the Trojans just one shot on frame. The Cardinal has now held its last ten opponents to two shots on goal or less and allowed them just 35 shots combined. Abegg, Summers and O'Hara led the Cardinal on offense, with two shots apiece.
"I think we had the better play today," said Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe. "It's disappointing that we didn't pick up the win, but it's a good result to build off of for our next game."
Stanford returns to action Sunday afternoon, meeting defending conference champion UCLA in Los Angeles. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Drake Stadium.