Aug. 29, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Christen Press took advantage of a perfect through ball from Teresa Noyola for the winner that completed a second-half rally in No. 2 Stanford's 2-1 women's soccer victory over No. 25 Duke at the Carolina Nike Classic on Sunday.
Stanford fell behind in the 50th minute before Noyola responded fewer than two minutes later to tie the match, and Press converted on a breakaway in the 75th minute for her third goal of the season.
"It was a great result," Stanford coach Paul Ratcliffe said. "The team showed tremendous character."
The match concluded a 12-day, four-match season-opening trip for the Cardinal (2-0-2), all against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams, including three in the Top 25, and two in the Top 10, and No. 1 North Carolina, which tied on Friday, 2-2.
"We gained a lot from this trip," Ratcliffe said. "The team has grown substantially with the experience of hard games with big crowds."
With two overtime matches in its first three outings, including the 110-minute double-overtime thriller at UNC that was both physically and mentally exhausting, Ratcliffe was concerned about a letdown against a strong opponent, especially in the 85-degree heat at kickoff.
Therefore, Ratcliffe went often to his bench.
"We needed the energy," he said.
In one move, he brought in redshirt freshman Annie Case, in her first collegiate action, to outside back and moved Camille Levin from defense to forward.
The move paid dividends when Levin pushed a through ball forward to Noyola, who finished into the left side of the net for the equalizer at 51:20, after Duke's Laura Weinberg had given the Blue Devils (2-1) the initial lead on a rebound.
As for Case, who was injured last season and slowed by illness at the beginning of fall camp, she did "a fantastic job," Ratcliffe said. "I knew we had some great players on our bench, and they made a huge impact on the game."
Noyola's goal, "changed the momentum of the game," Ratcliffe said. "We had been playing well, but were not getting the ball in the final third."
The Cardinal continued to push when Noyola took possession at midfield, ran at the defense, and found Press, whose well-timed run split the defense. As goalkeeper Tara Campbell rushed forward, Press stayed composed and pushed the ball under Campbell and into the bottom corner.
Duke tried to fight back and blistered consecutive shots in 78th minute - the first stopped by goalkeeper Kira Maker and the next saved off the line by central defender Courtney Verloo.
Stanford is off until Sept. 10 when it plays its home opener against Georgia in a 7 p.m. match as part of the Cardinal Nike Classic. Santa Clara plays Pacific in the opener of the doubleheader at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, at 4:30 p.m.