Sept. 28, 2007
The Cardinal found themselves in a close match, despite dominating University San Francisco in all statistical categories in their 3-1 win Friday night at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. Shari Summer scored twice, once on a penalty kick and once on a free kick to seal the win for No. 4 ranked Stanford (8-1-0).
Stanford attacked early and often in the first half, as sophomore Ali Riley made her debut in the starting lineup and played a big role in the first half. Only three minutes in Riley had the ball in the open field on the left side and sent a crossing pass to freshman Christen Press. Press was then taken down by the Dons defense, which setup a penalty kick that was later converted by Shari Summers. The redshirt senior from Canyon Country, Calif. found the net twice in the first half, as she converted a free kick at the 35:52 as well, which gave Stanford its 2-0 halftime lead. The two goals for Summers gives her five on the season, which is a team-high.
In the first half the Cardinal played dominant defensive soccer as the ball was hardly on their side of the field. Stanford out shot USF 8-1 in the first half, with the one Dons' shot coming with 16 seconds left in the frame. Freshman Kira Maker, appearing in the starting lineup for the fourth game in a row, allowed just one goal and made four saves in her third victory in four tries as the starting goalkeeper.
The second half started the way the first one ended, with Stanford getting lots of chances on net. Sophomore Kelley O'Hara returned to the field and gave the Cardinal a spark off the bench with four shot attempts and kept the pressure on USF goalkeeper Katie Hodgson. The Dons drew a foul in the Stanford zone at the 58:05 mark, and Jenny Jarvie was able to put in the penalty shot to cut the lead in half to 2-1.
The game stayed close throughout the second half as Stanford had a hard time cashing in on their scoring chances. The Cardinal out shot the Dons 8-3 in the second half, but couldn't find the net until Allison Falk headed in an O'Hara cross in the 87th minute to give Stanford a 3-1 lead. The goal was Falk's second of the year after she also headed in the game-winner against Missouri two weeks ago in the Stanford Invitational.
Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe was pleased with the effort after the game and praised all aspects of his team. "The team played an excellent game and it was very attractive soccer," said Ratcliffe. "Shari (Summers) gave us a huge lift with those two goals and Allison (Falk) made a really nice play at the end. We played a very strong overall game and I was very pleased with our performance."
No. 4 Stanford returns to action on Sunday, Sept. 30 when they take on the Saint Mary's Gaels at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. Kickoff will be at 1:00 p.m.