Oct. 30, 2010
Final Stats
BERKELEY - The No. 1-ranked and only undefeated women's soccer team in the nation in Stanford upped its unbeaten streak to 18 games with a 3-0 win over California on Saturday afternoon. The best point scorer in the nation - forward Christen Press - tallied two of the three scores to push her Cardinal to the Pac-10 Conference victory at Edwards Stadium.
Stanford now stands at 16-0-2 and 7-0-0 in conference play while the Bears keep their overall record on the winning side at 7-5-5 and fall to 2-4-1 in the Pac-10 Conference. A season-high 664 fans came out to watch the Bay Area Derby under gray skies that only opened during warm-ups.
"Stanford is arguably one of the best college teams that I have ever seen," Cal head coach Neil McGuire said. "Not much worked for us today. We really struggled with possession. We knew going into the game, if Stanford had possession then we would end up chasing. Unfortunately we couldn't break Stanford's ability to keep the ball, and as a result, they had the ball for the majority of the play. Our young players learned a great deal today and we'll move on from there."
Stanford's 23 shots were a season high for a Cal opponent with Press accounting for 10. Press has tallied a goal or assist in all but the season's opening match. Her points streak moves to 17 games, though her goal-scoring streak ended at nine when she did not score against Arizona State last weekend. The Bears took five shots with freshman Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick firing off a squad-leading two near misses.
"We knew they were great shooters from outside the box, from anywhere from 35 yards and in, and that's a threat that few teams possess," McGuire said.
Freshman keeper Emily Kruger performed admirably, making nine saves in 90 minutes of work. Emily Oliver got the win in goal for Stanford with two saves and no goals allowed before Aly Gleason relieved her with 3:46 to play in the match.
In the 19th minute, Courtney Verloo took a corner from the far side, crossing it into the box. Sophomore Sam Walker cleared the ball, but Teresa Noyola got possession and passed to Lindsay Taylor. Taylor shot it to the back right corner for the ultimate gamewinner, giving Stanford the 1-0 lead at 18:54.
"We stepped to the ball well," McGuire said. "We blocked it and it rebounded and kind of ricocheted in. That's an unfortunate situation."
The 1-0 lead did not last very long. In the 25th minute, Walker cleared the ball of bounds. Annie Case threw the ball into Press on the near side, who shot it across the box for her 20th goal of the season.
"Press turned inside onto her right foot and reached a ball into the upper 90 to the far corner," McGuire noted of Stanford's second score. "We could have forced her wide, but you have to credit a great player being able to score a great goal like that.
With 17:44 to play, Kruger stopped a shot from Press by punching it out at the cross bar and then perfectly played a shot from Allison McCann from the top of the box.
Lauren Battung looked to get Cal on the board with just over two minutes remaining in halftime. Betsy Hassett passed her the ball and Battung kept her cool amongst three Cardinal defenders and shot the ball on goal but missed just left.
The Cardinal took a 2-0 lead into halftime, outshooting the Bears, 11-2, at that point.
Cal's third shot of the game and first of the second half came from Fitzpatrick on a fast break, but Oliver was there to make one of her two saves.
With 15 minutes to play, Kruger kept her cool with Press attacking from the nearside. Kruger saved Press' shot as well as a shot from Marjani Hing-Glover, who collected the rebound.
In the 90th minute, the Cardinal continued its relentless attack. Press dribbled the ball up the field, drawing out Kruger. With the empty goal, Press fired it in, upping Stanford's lead to 3-0.
"Press was against two of our defenders and beat them with flat out speed," McGuire said. "Even against great athletes, she scored an exceptional goal. You have to tip your hat to a player like that who can score magnificent goals against magnificent defenders."
Not to be denied a further attempt, Fitzpatrick shot with exactly five on the clock. Oliver stopped it and then fell on it to prevent any further attacks with Hassett also present in the box. That shot was the final offensive for either side, and Stanford came away with the 3-0 win.
The last time a game with Stanford did not result in an official loss was in 2007 in the second round of that NCAA Tournament. In that game, the then-No. 11 Bears rallied late in regulation with a goal from Alex Morgan to force overtime with then-No. 2 Stanford. After 20 minutes of scoreless overtime play, the Cardinal beat the Bears in a penalty-kick shootout, 7-6, to advance to the third round. Stanford extends its series record with the Bears to 15-11-4.
The Bears close out their regular season with a two-game homestand next weekend. Cal faces off against Oregon on Friday, Nov. 5 at 3 p.m. and then No. 10 Oregon State on Sunday, Nov. 7 at noon. Both games will take place at Edwards Stadium and are free for everyone to attend. The games will be the final for seniors Megan Jesolva, McKenna McKetty and Emily Shibata, all of whom will be honored prior to the OSU game.
