Oct. 5, 2007
The Cardinal played one of their best performances Friday Night at Laird Q. Cagan stadium, but couldn't convert on their numerous opportunities to battle Santa Clara to a 0-0 draw. Stanford took 26 shots and 12 shots on goal in a game that was heavily controlled by the Cardinal from the outset. The Broncos were unable to register a shot on goal in the entire match and only took three shots in the final 85 minutes of play. With the tie, Stanford's record is now 9-1-1 and the Broncos moved to 7-1-2.
The first half started relatively calmly, with Santa Clara taking the game's first shot at the 7:59 mark. After that point the Cardinal started their barrage on Santa Clara goalkeeper Meagan McCray, by taking nine shots over the next 11 minutes of action. The Cardinal had their best scoring chance when freshmen Christen Press received a corner kick and fired at the top right corner of the net, only to see the shot bounce off the post. Press led the Cardinal with eight shots and sophomore forward Kelley O'Hara took seven shots in her return to the starting lineup.
The match started to turn more physical as Santa Clara committed 12 fouls to Stanford's 10. O'Hara also seemed to be taken down twice in the goalkeeper box, but play continued and Stanford wasn't able to attempt any penalty kicks on the night.
The second half was controlled once again by Stanford when they out shot the Broncos 11-1. O'Hara had her best scoring chance fall unsuccessfully when she hit the right post in the 58th minute. Red shirt senior Shari Summers got into the action in the second half when she took three shots on goal and gave the Cardinal their best opportunity of the night. Summers received a cross in the center of the field and had a relatively open path to the net. She struck the ball towards the top right portion of the net, forcing McCray to make a full blown dive to prevent the Cardinal from taking the lead.
The overtime periods were also controlled by Stanford as they were able to take six shots in the second overtime to Santa Clara's one. In the end of the second overtime Press took a shot from 25 feet away, but hit the top cross bar this time and the ball flew out of bounds.
The match was played in front of one the largest soccer crowds in Stanford history, when 2672 people showed up to watch the match between the two highly ranked programs.
Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe felt that his team had earned a better outcome. "I'm frustrated that we couldn't convert one of the numerous opportunities that we had," said Ratcliffe. "We were unable to break the ice tonight, which is very frustrating, but we played a great game against a good Santa Clara team."
The Cardinal return to the field next Friday, Oct. 12 when they take on the California Golden Bears at Laird Q. Cagan stadium. The match will begin at 7:30 p.m.