Sept. 28, 2012
BERKELEY, Calif.- Courtney Haldeman's tip-in of a loose ball with 11 seconds remaining propelled No. 13 Stanford to a hard-fought 2-1 victory over California on Friday afternoon in the conference opener for both teams.
Stanford (7-4, 1-0 NorPac) also extended its dominance in the all-time series, having now won 10 of the last 14 meetings overall and three in a row in Berkeley. The programs will meet again on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at the Varsity Turf.
"We are continuing to gain experience from some of our earlier matches and today's last possession was a great example," said head coach Tara Danielson. "I was pleased with the maturity we showed up until the last second and how we realized that the last possession had value. It was a great ball in from Maddie (Secco) and Courtney did a good job of fighting for position. We put ourselves in a great spot to make something happen."
The contest had been tied at 1-1 since the 11th minute before Stanford struck for the game-winner. Pressuring offensively in what figured to be the final sequence of regulation, Haldeman was positioned behind a Cal defender at the center of the goal. Maddie Secco's shot ricocheted off Cal goalie Courtney Hendrickson and landed near the stick of Haldeman, who tapped home her team-leading fifth goal of the year.
The Cardinal, which has won six of its last seven overall, held a 9-5 advantage in shots. Stanford attempted two of the game's three penalty corners.
In recent seasons, the Stanford-California rivalry had represented a competitive battle of top-25 programs. Despite the Golden Bears entering Friday's matchup unranked and under .500, fans were treated to an evenly-matched, intense contest by two clubs familiar with one another.
California (3-5, 0-1 NorPac) seized a 1-0 lead at the 7:13 mark when Jordan O'Reilly punched in a goal following a rebound off a shot from Lara Kruggel.
Three minutes later, Stanford knotted the game at 1-1 thanks to Secco's third goal of the year. Appearing in her first match in almost three weeks, Secco scored in almost identical fashion when she corralled a rebound from a shot by Hope Burke.
Secco, along with Kelsey Harbin, had been unavailable for Stanford's last three games after representing Canada and the United States, respectively, at the Junior Pan American Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico, from Sept. 10-13. Both players made noticeable differences right away in Friday's match.
Burke, Haldeman, Secco and Alex McCawley each tallied two shot attempts. Goalkeeper Dulcie Davies made three saves to keep Stanford within striking distance.
Stanford returns to the Varsity Turf on Friday, Oct. 5, hosting UC Davis at 7 p.m.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTES: Stanford is 4-2 this year in games decided by one goal ... Friday's contest was televised by the Pac-21 Networks, one of four appearances by the Cardinal on the channel this year ... The Cardinal has scored 30 goals this season: 15 in the first half and 15 in the second half ... Becky Dru, a 2011 NFHCA First Team All-American and one of the most prolific scorers in school history, was held without a shot attempt for only the fifth time in 75 career games ... There's a good chance these two teams will play a third time in 2012. The last six NorPac Championship title games have resulted in a Stanford-Cal match, with the Cardinal winning four of those games ... Stanford went 2-1 in the three games played without Harbin and Secco, with the one loss coming at No. 1 North Carolina.