STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford is one victory away from its sixth College Cup berth in seven years, but that victory needs to come against Florida, in a matchup of the region’s top two seeds. The No. 3-ranked and top-seeded Cardinal (20-1-2) play host to the No. 10-ranked and No. 2-seeded Gators (17-4-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. This will be a rematch of an outstanding back-and-forth contest that resulted in a 1-0 overtime victory for host Stanford on Sept. 12. Stanford relied on a spectacular save by goalkeeper Jane Campbell and a penalty-kick goal by Lo’eau LaBonta to pull out the victory. The winner advances to the College Cup in Boca Raton, Fla., Dec. 5-7.
The following is a closer look at Friday’s match:
Who: No. 3 Stanford (20-1-2) vs. No. 10 Florida (17-4-1)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, Stanford, Calif.
All-Time Series Record: Stanford leads, 3-0-0.
Webcast: Look for links at GoStanford.com
Live Stats: Look for links at GoStanford.com.
Twitter: @StanfordWSoccer
Tournament Central: Click here
Tickets: Tickets can be purchased at the Cagan Stadium ticket booth. The stadium will be cleared between matches. Reserved tickets are $15, bleachers are $10 for adults and $8 for students/youth/seniors.
Parking: There is no charge for parking after 4 p.m. Parking is plentiful around Cagan Stadium/Sunken Diamond and on the dirt lot behind Stanford Stadium.
Rematch:
Sept. 12, 2014; Stanford 1, Florida 0.
Lo’eau LaBonta drilled a penalty kick into the upper left corner in overtime to
give No. 4 Stanford a 1-0 victory over No. 6 Florida in a thriller. Stephanie Amack was brought down near the end line on a deep run from her outside left back position, setting up the penalty for LaBonta at 92:47. LaBonta, a senior tri-captain, did not start because of an injury, but came off the bench in the 79th minute and convinced her teammates that she should take the shot.
The match featured spectacular saves by both goalkeepers – Jane Campbell of Stanford and Taylor Burke of Florida – and a growing Stanford offensive presence as the match evolved. The Cardinal was held without a shot for the first 35 minutes, but outshot the Gators, 17-5 after halftime.
Florida’s Savannah Jordan stole the ball from a defender and fired a long-distance shot that was denied by Campbell’s diving full-extension finger-tip parry to tip the ball over the goal.
Friday’s Opponent, Florida: The Gators (17-4-1) were ranked No. 10 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire final regular-season poll and are the No. 2 seed in the region. Florida’s season highlight is a 2-1 victory at Florida State on Sept. 5. The result not only broke a 38-match Seminole winning streak in regulation, but has been the only loss suffered by No. 2 Florida State this season. Pamela Begic and Betsy Middleton scored for the Gators. Florida, which features U.S. U-20 World Cup player Savannah Jordan (19 goals, 8 assists), finished second in the Southeastern Conference at 9-2, and were eliminated from the SEC tournament by Tennessee on penalty kicks in the semifinals. The Gators have beaten Mercer, California, and Texas Tech in the NCAA’s to advance.
The Stanford-Florida Series: Stanford leads the all-time series, 3-0. The teams met on Sept. 12 at Stanford, with the Cardinal winning, 1-0, in overtime, on a penalty kick-goal by Lo’eau LaBonta. Previously, they had not met since 2002 when the No. 2 Cardinal won in a 4-0 rout at home over the No. 16 Gators as goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart earned her fifth shutout in six matches. In the 2001 opener, No. 15 Stanford won at No. 18 Florida, 3-2, in overtime. Stanford rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit and got the winner from Marcia Wallis 1:15 into the first overtime.
College Cup: The Stanford-Florida winner advances to the College Cup, which will be played Dec. 5 and 7 at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla. For Stanford, it would mark its sixth College Cup in seven seasons. Florida has two College Cup appearances, winning in 1998 and losing to Santa Clara in the 2001 semifinals. The Stanford-Florida winner plays the winner of the Florida State-South Carolina contest in the College Cup semifinals.
Stanford’s NCAA History: The Cardinal has qualified for 17 consecutive NCAA tournaments and 24 overall. The Cardinal has won its past 24 home NCAA tournament matches and has advanced to the quarterfinals for the sixth time in seven seasons and for the 11th time in program history. Stanford is 6-3-1 all-time in NCAA quarterfinals and has won its past five, including its most recent, a 2-1 home victory over UCLA in 2012. Stanford’s all-time NCAA tournament record is 44-19-5 (.684), including 33-9-2 (.723) in 12 seasons under coach Paul Ratcliffe.
Third-Round Recap -- Stanford 1, Washington 0: Lo’eau LaBonta scored on a first-half rebound of her own saved penalty kick. LaBonta scored her team-leading 13th goal of the season at 42:20 just after Ryan Walker-Hartshorn was fouled from behind as she awaited a high pass from Laura Liedle in the box. LaBonta’s penalty was blocked by Husky goalkeeper Megan Kufeld, but LaBonta charged the ball and punched in the rebound from point-blank range.
Second-Round Recap -- Stanford 1, Arkansas 0: Lo’eau LaBonta scored on a penalty kick at 23:13 after Taylor Uhl was fouled in the box, to account for the only goal in the match. Stanford outshot Arkansas, 24-6, but the Razorbacks (9-7-6) looked dangerous at times, with Jane Campbell saving three shots in picking up her 13th shutout of the season.
First-Round Recap -- Stanford 5, Cal State Fullerton 2: No. 1-seeded Stanford didn’t intimidate Big West Conference champion Cal State Fullerton, which bolted to a 2-0 lead in their first-round match on Friday at Cagan Stadium with a penalty kick and an interception and goal in the first 29 minutes. It was the first two-goal deficit Stanford faced all season and the first at home since 2009. Though Stanford settled down and outshot the Titans 20-0 in the second half, the Cardinal had nothing to show it over the first 60 minutes. But that changed with a Chioma Ubogagu free kick at 60:47. Ubogagu and Taylor Uhl combined to score five goals in 27 minutes for a 5-2 Stanford victory.
Stanford Season Highlights:
• Chioma Ubogagu and Taylor Uhl combined for five goals in the final 30 minutes to give Stanford a come-from-behind 5-2 victory over Cal State Fullerton in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
• Finished second to overall top seed UCLA in the Pac-12, trailing by only three points in the standings, 31-28.
• Earned its 17th consecutive NCAA tournament bid and 24th overall.
• Awarded a No. 1 seed into the tournament and home-field through the first four rounds.
• Finished the regular-season No. 1 in the RPI and No. 3 in the NSCAA rankings.
• Got four hat tricks this season -- two by Ryan Walker-Hartshorn and one each by Taylor Uhl and Chioma Ubogagu.
• Andi Sullivan was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
• Taylor Uhl was named to the Capital One Academic All-America second team.
• Opened season with a double-overtime winner from Chioma Ubogagu to beat North Carolina for the first time ever, spanning 13 meetings.
• Unscored upon during the nonconference season, during a nine-match schedule that included five ranked teams.
• Compiled a school-record shutout streak of 893 minutes, 58 seconds, dating back to the end of the 2013 season.
• Beat No. 6 Florida, 1-0, on a penalty kick by Lo’eau LaBonta in overtime.
• Paul Ratcliffe earned his 200th coaching victory at Stanford, during an 8-0 rout of Dayton on Sept. 14.
• Set a school record with 48 shots, in beating Oregon State, 7-0.
• Shut out 16 opponents in 22 matches.
• Earned its 24th consecutive NCAA home tournament victory with a 1-0 NCAA third-round victory over visiting Washington.
• Reached the NCAA quarterfinals for the 11th time in program history.
Pac-12 in the Tournament: The Pac-12 has two teams still alive in the NCAA tournament -- No. 1 seeds Stanford and UCLA. The Pac-12 went 7-1-1 in the first round. The seven second-round teams were the most in conference history. A conference-record nine earned berths, with two earning top seeds.
LaBonta in the Clutch: Stanford senior Lo’eau LaBonta is fifth in the nation in game-winning goals. She scored the only goals in each of the second and third rounds -- 1-0 victories over Arkansas and Washington, respectively, and now has seven game-winning goals this season. Four of those have come in 1-0 victories, with three in 1-0 results, including an overtime penalty in a 1-0 victory over Florida on Sept. 12. LaBonta, Shea Groom of Texas A&M, and Sam Mewis of UCLA each have seven, which is the most for any player remaining in the NCAA tournament. LaBonta has scored a team-leading 13 goals.
Overtime: Stanford has played six overtime matches, and has a 4-0-2 record. Here’s how they turned out:
• Aug. 22: Chioma Ubogagu scored at 99:00 to win at No. 4 North Carolina in the season opener, 1-0. It was Stanford’s first-ever victory over the Tar Heels, in 13 tries.
• Sept. 7: The Cardinal was held to a 0-0 draw against visiting No. 25 Notre Dame.
• Sept. 12: A brilliant save by Jane Campbell kept No. 6 Florida off the board and Lo’eau LaBonta won it at 92:47, 1-0.
• Sept. 26: Stanford was unable to hold a halftimem lead, allowing its first goal of the season after nine consecutive shutouts to open the year, tying host Utah, 1-1.
• Oct. 24: Taylor Uhl had two goals and an assist to give Stanford a 3-2 victory at Arizona. She tapped in a rebound at 98:47 for the winner.
• Oct. 30: Lo’eau LaBonta scored at 94:40 on a rebound of a saved shot to lift Stanford past visiting Oregon, 1-0.
Penalty Kicks: Stanford has made four of five penalty kicks this season. Of those, Lo’eau LaBonta has made three of four and Kendall Romine has converted her only attempt.
As a team, Stanford is 3-2 in penalty-kick shootouts in the NCAA tournament. No current Stanford player ever has been involved in a collegiate penalty-kick shootout. Here is a list of Cardinal penalty-kick results in the NCAA tournament:
• 1993 Semifinals: l. to George Mason 3-1 in PK’s (1-1 score).
• 1994 First Round: d. Washington 6-5 in PK’s (0-0)
• 2002 Quarterfinals: l. to Portland 4-2 in PK’s (0-0)
• 2006 Third Round: d. Clemson 4-2 in PK’s (0-0)
• 2007 Second Round: d. California 7-6 in PK’s (1-1)
From Behind: Stanford has trailed three times this season, for a total of 63 minutes, 39 seconds. Here are the three matches and the final results:
Oct. 9: Trailed UCLA for 5:11 in a 2-1 loss.
Nov. 6: Trailed Cal for 1:58 in a 3-2 win.
Nov. 14: Trailed Cal State Fullerton for 56:30 in a 5-2 win.
Stanford record in matches it has trailed: 3-2.
Stanford’s Situational Records:
• When scoring first: 18-1-1
• When opponents score first: 2-0
• When leading at halftime: 12-0
• When tied at halftime: 7-1-1
• When trailing at halftime: 1-0
• When trailing at any time: 2-1
• At Home: 13-0-1
• At Opponent: 6-1-1
• At Neutral Field: 1-0
Academic All-American: This week, Stanford senior forward Taylor Uhl was named to the Capital One Academic All-America second team. Uhl carries a Stanford grade-point average of 3.79 and is majoring in biomechanical engineering.
Majors: The following are declared majors for Stanford players. A note: Stanford students declare their majors as juniors, so this list includes only upperclassmen:
• Kate Bettinger: Science, technology, and society.
• Alex Doll: Economics.
• Katie Donahue: Engineering
• Hannah Farr: Science, technology, and society.
• Lo’eau LaBonta: Product design
• Laura Liedle: Human biology
• Kendall Romine: Master’s in international relations.
• Haley Rosen: Science, technology, and society.
• Lauren Schmidt: Human biology.
• Chioma Ubogagu: Film and media studies.
• Taylor Uhl: Biomechanical engineering.
Active Leading Scorer: Stanford’s Taylor Uhl is the nation’s top career goal-scorer who still is alive in the NCAA tournament. Uhl has scored 57 career goals, 21 at Stanford over the past two seasons and 36 at Minnesota as a freshman and sophomore. Uhl led the nation in goals and points as a sophomore, scoring 21 goals and 51 assists. Last year, she led the Pac-12 with 12 goals. She has scored nine goals in her past nine matches.
All-Conference: Stanford has seven All-Pac-12 selections. Here is a list of Stanford’s conference awards:
Freshman of the Year: Andi Sullivan.
First team: Lo’eau LaBonta, Andi Sullivan, Chioma Ubogagu.
Second team: Maddie Bauer, Jane Campbell
Honorable mention: Stephanie Amack, Laura Liedle.
Home NCAA Win Streak: Stanford has won its past 24 home matches in the NCAA tournament. Stanford has played 27 of 29 NCAA tournament matches at home through the quarterfinals for the past eight seasons. This streak is perhaps the last of the great streaks that Stanford compiled from 2008-2013 such as a 73-match home unbeaten streak and a 44-match conference winning streak. Stanford’s last home NCAA loss was 2-0 to Connecticut on Nov. 23, 2007 in the third round.
Home Goal Differential: Stanford not only is 13-0-1 at home this season, but the Cardinal has outscored opponents, 39-3, at home. Only one goal, by Washington, was scored against the Cardinal at home during the regular season. Here are some figures:
• 39-3 goal differential at home in 14 matches.
• 12 shutouts at home
• 15-7 goal differential away from home in nine matches.
• Five shutouts away from home.
Consecutive Sweet 16’s: Stanford has advanced to the NCAA third round, or the Sweet 16, nine consecutive times. That’s every season since 2006. Here is what Stanford has accomplished in those years:
• One NCAA championship
• Five College Cup semifinals
• Six quarterfinals
• A 181-22-15 overall record since 2006.
Campbell and the Record Books: Stanford sophomore Jane Campbell is climbing up the all-time lists for Stanford. Here is a glimpse:
• Her 14 shutouts this season are tied with Kira Maker (2008) for No. 2. Ahead of her is Nicole Barnhart (18 in 2002), Stanford’s current volunteer assistant coach.
• Her 20 career shutouts are No. 6. Emily Oliver (2010-13) is No. 5 with 27. Nicole Barnhart (2000-04) holds the Stanford record with 35.
Team Captains: Stanford’s team captains this season are seniors Alex Doll, Lo’eau LaBonta, and Chioma Ubogagu.
Alex Doll: A three-year starter and two-year captain, Doll is a player whose contributions are not always reflected by stats. She is the engine that makes the Stanford system work. She maintains a GPA of 3.51 as an economics major. Doll will graduate this spring with a degree in economics and plans to work in finance and live, in her words, “an adventurous life.” She is co-president of the Cardinal Council, which represents the 800 student-athletes on campus, and serves as a mentor for Partners for Academic Excellence, helping student-athletes use their time wisely and take advantage of resources.
Chioma Ubogagu: Ubogagu has scored 27 goals and has 34 assists at Stanford. Some scoring facts:
• With 34 assists, she is tied for No. 4 on Stanford’s all-time career assists list with Sarah Rafanelli (1990-93). Teresa Noyola (2008-11) and Marcie Ward (2000-04) are next with 40.
• Her hat trick against Cal State Fullerton in the first round gave her 88 career points, which is No. 10 all-time at Stanford. At No. 9 is Teresa Noyola (2008-11) with 102.
• She is tied for No. 4 at Stanford in career postseason goals, with six, matching Lindsay Taylor (2008-11). At No. 3 is Marcia Wallis (1999-02) with seven.
• Her 10 goals this season ties her career high, achieved as a freshman in a 10-goal, 10-assist season.
More Ubogagu: Ubogagu was a starter on the NCAA championship team and the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2011, Ubogagu will graduate this spring with a degree in film and media studies, and pre-med. She plans on playing pro soccer before a career in animated or live action film editing. She was born in London to Nigerian parents and moved with her mother, Tina, and brothers to Coppell, Texas, when she was 3. Ubogagu’s grandfather, Austin Eneuke, played for England’s Tottenham Hotspurs and the Nigeran national team.
Lo’eau LaBonta: A versatile playmaker with a deadly long-range shot, LaBonta has made habit of tormenting UCLA. In six career matches against the Bruins, LaBonta scored four goals, all tying or go-ahead scores. LaBonta scored the OT winners against Oregon and Florida this year and leads the team with 13 goals. Her 13 goals, five assists, and 31 points each are season highs.
More LaBonta: LaBonta will graduate this spring with a degree in engineering with a focus in product design. She plans to pursue a professional soccer career before working in the product design field. LaBonta was raised by her father, Mark, an LAPD sergeant. Their relationship is the focus of a wonderfully-written feature by Graham Hays on ESPN.com: http://es.pn/14wkLtO
Two-Sport Star: Senior outside back Hannah Farr is a two-sport athlete. In lacrosse, Farr was the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year and was a second-team All-America. She has scored 87 goals in her collegiate lacrosse career, including the winner against Notre Dame in 2013 that gave Stanford its first-ever NCAA tournament victory in lacrosse. This is her first season as a starter in soccer. She scored her first career goal on Oct. 12, giving the Cardinal a 1-0 victory at USC.
More Farr: A graduate of San Francisco’s St. Ignatius Prep, Farr is the first player ever to double in soccer and lacrosse at Stanford. She also is the second Bay Area native to play lacrosse at Stanford. Farr will graduate this spring with a degree in science, technology, and society and a minor in creative writing. She plans to work in business development or business strategy and one day start her own company.
NCAA Champions: Stanford has two players who were starters in the 2011 NCAA College Cup final (Dec. 4) when the Cardinal beat Duke, 1-0, in Kennesaw, Ga., for the program’s first national championship: Kendall Romine in central defense and Chioma Ubogagu at forward. Romine played all 90 minutes. The only other current Stanford player to see action in that match was Alex Doll, who played 11 minutes and cleared away the ball in the final seconds to run out the clock. Hannah Farr, Lo’eau LaBonta, and Lauren Schmidt also were on that team, and Haley Rosen redshirted (of the team’s eight seniors, she will return next season).
Kendall Romine: A graduate student in international relations, Romine is a fifth-year senior who started in the 2011 NCAA championship match as a redshirt freshman. Romine has been a part of three College Cup teams and is 104-10-7 in her five seasons. Romine has been a crucial part of the central defense, first alongside Alina Garciamendez and now Maddie Bauer. Romine earned an undergraduate degree in international relations with a minor in Spanish, and will earn her master’s this fall in international relations before heading to law school.
Senior Class: Stanford’s senior class of Alex Doll, Hannah Farr, Lo’eau LaBonta, Kendall Romine, Haley Rosen, Lauren Schmidt, Chioma Ubogagu, and Taylor Uhl have a four-year record of 81-9-5 (.879). Stanford’s class is second to Florida State in total victories (82) and second to UCLA in winning percentage (.887).
Home Unbeaten Streak: Stanford’s unbeaten streak at home stands at 15 (14-0-1), with its last home loss coming against California (1-0, OT) in the 2013 regular-season finale.
Defensive Streak: Stanford has not allowed more than two goals in a match over its past 234 contests, not since a 4-0 loss to North Carolina on Sept. 11, 2005, in San Francisco. During that stretch, Stanford allowed two goals 22 times.
Two other streaks of note: Stanford hasn’t allowed more than two goals in a match at home since Oct. 5, 1998, in a 3-2 overtime loss to BYU. Stanford hasn’t allowed more than two at home in regulation since Oct. 10, 1997, in a 3-2 loss to USC.
Stanford Qualifies for World Cup: Stanford alumnae could represent four of the 24 nations taking part in this year’s World Cup (June 6-July 5 in Canada). Considering each team’s most recent rosters, Stanford has six former players on qualifying teams – Kelley O’Hara ’10 and Christen Press ’11 of the United States, Alina Garciamendez ’12 and Teresa Noyola ’12 of Mexico, Rachel Quon ’13 of Canada, and Ali Riley ‘10 of New Zealand. All were teammates on Stanford’s 2009 team that went 25-1 and reached the school’s first NCAA final.
In addition, Rachel (Buehler) Van Hollebeke ’07 and goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart ’04 have been active on the U.S. national team in the past year and could be in the mix for final roster spots.
U-20 World Cup: Three Stanford players -- sophomore goalkeeper Jane Campbell, sophomore defender Stephanie Amack, and freshman midfielder Andi Sullivan -- were on the U.S. team at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Canada in August. The U.S. reached the quarterfinals before losing to North Korea on penalty kicks. Amack and Sullivan started all four matches for the U.S., Amack at right outside back and Sullivan as a holding midfielder. They missed 12 days of training camp before joining the team the week of its opener and been regular starters ever since. Senior forward Chioma Ubogagu and Amack were on the winning U.S. team in 2012.
Probable Starters:
GK: Jane Campbell, so.; Seventh in nation in GAA (0.46).
D: Hannah Farr, sr.; Two-sport standout, plays outside back.
D: Maddie Bauer, so.; All-Pac-12 second team.
D: Laura Liedle, jr.; Three-year starter at outside back.
D: Kendall Romine, 5th sr.; Starter on 2011 NCAA title team.
M: Alex Doll, sr.; Team captain and three-year starter.
M: Lo’eau LaBonta, sr.; Team leader with 13 goals.
M: Andi Sullivan, fr.; U.S. co-captain at U-20 World Cup.
F: Chioma Ubogagu, sr.; Captain and four-year starter.
F: Megan Turner, so.; Active player who can create goals.
F: Taylor Uhl, sr.; Has scored nine goals in past nine games.
Possible Defensive Records: With 17 shutouts, the 2014 team is tied for second for most shutouts in a season. Here are the top defenses in school history:
Total shutouts:
19 -- 2002
17 -- 1993, 2008, 2011, 2014
Best Team Goals-Against Average for a Season:
0.17, 2002 (Starting GK: Nicole Barnhart)
0.32, 2008 (Kira Maker)
0.34, 2011 (Emily Oliver)
0.42, 2014 (Jane Campbell)
0.43, 2004 (Nicole Barnhart)
0.45, 2010 (Emily Oliver)
Stanford’s Offense: Stanford’s offense has been notable for its versatility. Twelve different players have scored, accounting for their 54 goals. Four players have at least eight goals: Lo’eau LaBonta with 13, Chioma Ubogagu with 10, Taylor Uhl with nine and Ryan Walker-Hartshorn with eight.
