Oct. 12, 2008
STANFORD, Calif. - Freshman Lindsay Taylor scored the game-winner and fellow rookie Camille Levin knocked in two to help the sixth-ranked Cardinal defeat Oregon State 3-0 this afternoon at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. With the win, Stanford improves to 2-0 in the conference standings.
The Cardinal needed to feel out its opponent in the opening minutes of the contest but got on the board in the tenth minute courtesy of a free kick opportunity. Lindsay Taylor stepped up for Stanford and curled the dead ball shot into the upper-left corner of the net from the left side of the penalty arc about 20 yards out for her team-leading tenth goal and fifth game-winner of the season.
The goal proved to be the first of a yet another set for the Cardinal, as Levin made it 2-0 in the 13th minute. Junior Kelley O'Hara blasted a shot off of Beavers' goalkeeper Colleen Boyd that bounced right to Levin. The rookie out of Newport Coast, Calif. then finished off the rebound for her second goal of the year. The tally marks the seventh time in 13 games that Stanford has scored back-to-back goals within five minutes. O'Hara was credited with her team-leading eighth assist of the year.
The game remained relatively quiet until the 63rd minute, when sophomore goalkeeper Kira Marker was forced out of her idle in the back to make a spectacular save, her only one of the game, on Oregon State's first shot of the match. The Beavers' Melissa Peck fired a shot that was headed toward the upper-90 to Maker's right, but she was able to get a hand on the ball and push it wide and out for a corner kick.
Levin became the fifth Cardinal player to record a multi-goal game this season in the 71st minute, hitting a shot that arched over the keeper and into the left corner of the net from outside the box on the right side after receiving a pass from redshirt junior Hillary Heath. The goal, the final of the match, marked the tenth time Stanford has scored three times in a single game.
"I've been playing a new position, so I think I've just gotten used to and comfortable with it," said Levin. "I just happened to put in two goals today, but it's the team that is creating those goals."
"Everyone has been stepping up and working hard," added Taylor. "It's great for so many different people to be scoring. It's really a team effort all the way around."
"I think it's a credit to the team [that so many different players are scoring]," said head coach Paul Ratcliffe. "We have good balance and so many talented players. I think other teams are trying to stop certain key players, our top three, and now the midfielders are running through and creating opportunities for themselves and getting great goals."
The Cardinal defense limited Oregon State to four shots and senior goalkeeper Alex Gamble, who saw 14 minutes of action at the end of the game, had to make one easy save along with Maker's earlier deflection to preserve the shutout, the team's tenth.
"Our defense has been phenomenal this year," added Taylor. "Kira and our entire back line have been great."
Stanford boasts a 12-0-1 record and will continue its Pac-10 campaign on the road next weekend in Washington with games against Washington and No. 25 Washington State.
"It's always difficult to play away from home and Washington and Washington State are both fantastic teams," added Ratcliffe. "They will be tough competition and we'll have to be on our best game and put in a good performance to win."