Nov. 2, 2008
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Backed by freshman Lindsay Taylor's 16th goal of the season, the fifth-ranked Stanford women's soccer team resumed its winning ways, defeating No. 10 USC 3-1 at the Los Angeles Coliseum this afternoon.
Junior Kelley O'Hara was back in the line up for the Cardinal after missing Friday night's game with an injury, and registered the first shot of the game in the fourth minute.
Seven minutes later, the Trojans went on the offensive, and forced sophomore goalkeeper Kira Maker to make her first save of the game. Over the course of the next five minutes, USC pelted Stanford with three more shots, but the Cardinal defense was able to thwart each attempt, as Maker made one save, the defense blocked a header and freshman Camille Levin cleared one off the line.
After playing to a scoreless tie in the first half, the Cardinal broke the draw in the 54th minute when freshman Teresa Noyola connected with senior Allison Falk on a corner kick. Falk's header off the cross hit the crossbar and deflected in for her first goal of the year.
"It was a great ball from Teresa," said Falk. "As soon as it came off her foot I knew I was going to put it in. It felt fantastic to finally finish one and I knew it [a goal] was going to come soon."
In the 84th minute, Stanford took a 2-0 lead when freshman Lindsay Taylor beat Trojan keeper Brittany Massro with a low shot to the left post.
Then, sophomore Christen Press added some extra insurance, tacking on a third goal on a long shot from 30 yards out with just over a minute left to play.
The shutout would be spoiled though, as USC managed to slip one past Maker just before the end of the game.
"It was a great result today," said head coach Paul Ratcliffe. "We scored three fantastic goals in the second half and it was a great feeling to head home with."
The Cardinal improves to 17-1-1 overall and is in second place behind UCLA in the Pac-10 standings with a 7-1-0 record. Stanford will finish out the regular season this coming Saturday with a 2 p.m. match against California in Berkeley.