Nov. 7, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. - First-half goals within 90 seconds of each other by Camille Levin and Rachel Quon sparked Stanford to a 3-0 victory over visiting Oregon to complete the Cardinal's second consecutive perfect Pacific-10 Conference women's soccer season.
Teresa Noyola added a second-half goal on a 22-yard free kick into the upper left corner for her ninth score of the year.
Stanford (18-0-2 overall, 9-0 in conference) became the second team in conference history to earn consecutive perfect seasons, and extended its Pac-10 winning streak to 20.
"It's a great accomplishment," coach Paul Ratcliffe said of Stanford's repeat. "It's a credit to the players on the team. They've worked very hard and they deserve all the success. It's very difficult to do."
Stanford advances to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th consecutive season and will find out its seeding and first-round foe on Monday. Stanford is expected to host the first two rounds, Friday and Sunday.
The Cardinal will be aiming for its third consecutive College Cup appearance and first national title.
"We know we have to take everything one at a time and can't take anything for granted at all," Levin said. "We've had such a great season so far, but one bad performance, one loss, and we could be going home. I think we're all pretty aware of that and we're not going to be happy until we've won a national championship."
Levin began the season as an outside back, but switched to forward in midseason and has contributed eight assists. Her quickness, dribbling skills, and willingness to take on defenders caused trouble for opponents in both matches this weekend.
She scored her first goal - "finally," she said - when cut inside, took a back heel from Morgan Redman and fired a 20-yard shot inside the far post at 15:39.
"There was quite a gap in the middle, so I took it and saw that the back post was pretty open and took a shot," Levin said.
Moments later, Noyola found an opening and fired a long-range shot that was deflected off the crossbar by Oregon goalkeeper Lindsay Parlee, only for the rebound to fall directly into the path of Quon, who headed the ball in from point-blank range.
The goal, at 17:06, was the second of the season for Quon, an outside back prone to overlapping runs up the wing. However, seldom does the sophomore venture so far into the box.
Senior goalkeeper Kira Maker received her first start since the fifth match of the season and responded with the 28th shutout of her collegiate career and first of the season.
Maker, Redman, midfielder Allison McCann, and national-scoring leader Christen Press were honored before their final regular-season home match on Stanford's designated Senior Day.
The shutout was the fifth consecutive for Stanford, which has allowed only one goal in its past eight matches. Stanford had a 17-6 shot advantage over the Ducks (7-10-3, 3-5-1).
Also, the victory was the 31st in a row at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, including NCAA Tournament play, which begins Friday.
"It's single-elimination now," Ratcliffe said. "So, you've got to perform in every game and perform as if it's your last game, and enjoy."