Sept. 16, 2007
No. 1 Stanford had a new face in goal, but continued their strong play to down Rutgers 4-1 in the final day of the Stanford Invitational. The Cardinal (6-0-0) won the Stanford Invitational by goal differential as No. 3 Santa Clara defeated Missouri 2-1 earlier in the day. Kira Maker, making her Cardinal debut, made four saves and held the Scarlet Knights to just one goal.
For the second consecutive game Stanford found the net very early, as Shari Summer scored in the fourth minute from 12 yards out and gave Stanford a 1-0 lead. The goal was assisted by Lizzy George, which was her fourth on the season. Five minutes later, freshman Morgan Redman received a pass in the middle of the field and was met by Erin Guthrie, the junior goalkeeper from the Scarlet Knights. Redman's initial shot was unsuccessful, but went beyond Guthrie, who lay on the field only to watch as Redman ran by and put the ball in the net. The goal was Redman's third on the season and gave Stanford a 2-0 lead, which they took into the halftime break.
After a relatively calmer first half, the play got more physical in the second half as nine fouls were issued. Freshman forward Christen Press continued her superb weekend and found the net in the 61st minute to give the Cardinal a 3-0 lead. Press controlled the ball on the right side, and made two moves past defenders and snuck the ball in on the far left side of the net past Guthrie.
Stanford continued to shine on defense, giving the Scarlet Knight forwards very little run to work with when they had the ball on the Cardinal end. Hermann award candidate Rachel Buehler continued her shutdown defense and frustrated the Rutgers attackers.
In the 69th minute, Lizzy George brought the ball up on the left side and decided to fire at the goal from about 25 yards away. The senior midfielder placed the ball perfectly in the top right portion of the net and the Cardinal led 4-0. Rutgers added a late goal by Kristie Lang in the 84th minute, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinal won their sixth game in a row to start the season.
Stanford returns to the field Sept. 21, when they head to Boulder, Colo. to participate in the Colorado Tournament and face host Colorado University. Later in the weekend on Sept. 23, Stanford takes on Denver University.