Aug. 31, 2007
After dropping the season opening game for the last two seasons, the 2007 Stanford women's soccer team made sure that the streak wasn't going to get to three. The Cardinal shut out Boston University 2-0 in the opening round of the BU Terrier Classic in Boston, Mass behind goals from Morgan Redman and Kelley O'Hara. Stanford improved to 1-0 on the season, while the Terriers fell to 0-1.
The Cardinal led off the game with a lot of offensive pressure as they took five shots in the game's opening 17 minutes. While all the early offensive opportunities proved to be fruitless, O'Hara was able to find the net at the 33:20 mark in the game and the Cardinal pushed out to a 1-0 lead. The goal was proceeded by a beautiful pass from Lizzy George and O'Hara was able to shot the ball over an onrushing goalkeeper.
After the goal, the Terriers were able to get their first two shots of the game on net, but one sailed wide left and the other was corralled by Cardinal goalkeeper Erica Holland, who finished the game with four saves on the day. The first half came to a close with Stanford holding a 1-0 lead.
The Cardinal came out in a flurry to start the second half as they put two shots on net in an eight second span early on, with both shots being saved by Terrier goalkeeper Christina Rueter. At the 53:18 mark, Boston University's Farrell McClernon took a shot that looked like it was going to tie the game, but Holland was able to block it and preserve the 1-0 Cardinal lead.
The 1-0 score held for another 26 minutes until freshman Morgan Redman was able to power in a goal in her first collegiate game at the 78:32 mark in the second half. Redman, a native of Indianapolis, Ind., took a crossing pass from O'Hara and powered it into the net to give Stanford a 2-0 lead. The Cardinal took 14 shots in the game, with ten of them being on goal, while the Terriers took six shots with four of them on net.
Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe was pleased with the way his team played, and persevered on the road. "This was a good team victory over a tough BU squad," said Ratcliffe. "It is always difficult on the road, but this team played tough and improved as the match went on. Kelley O'Hara played a great game and both of our goals were outstanding."
Stanford returns to the field on Sunday, when they will take on the No.10 University of Connecticut Huskies. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 PM EST at Nickerson Field in Boston, Mass.