It wasn’t so long ago that Stanford and Santa Clara last battled it out, but it was clear Friday that a lot had certainly changed. While the Cardinal (23-0) demolished the Broncos (14-7-2) on the road back in early October by a score of 6-2, the 2009 season’s second ‘South Bay Derby’ played out almost nothing like the first.
Stanford’s third playoff game was instead a back-and-forth nailbiter, but fortunately for the fans on The Farm, one thing remained the same: a Cardinal victory. Punching a ticket to the NCAA quarterfinals with the win, Stanford edged out its local rivals 1-0 on a cold, wet night when a Teresa Noyola free kick was the big difference-maker.
“Yeah, I think [it was different this time],” said Stanford Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe. Everyone knows it’s the last game of [Santa Clara’s] season if they don’t get the result, so emotions were high and it was a physical match, and it was a tight game.”
Stanford had the brighter start to the game, and had a decent chance just ten minutes in when senior forward Kelley O’Hara cut inside her defender on the right and unleashed a shot from outside the box. Curling it off her weaker left foot, however, she could only hit it directly at Bronco keeper Bianca Henninger.
Santa Clara began to get back into the game soon after, and the match began to have a feisty edge to it. After a series of fouls by both teams, SCU fullback Jenny LaPonte picked up the game’s first yellow card in the 19th minute.
The remainder of the first half saw both teams create chances, but it looked like the game would remain scoreless heading into halftime. That all changed when O’Hara was hauled down 25 yards from goal in the 39th minute. Sophomore Teresa Noyola—once again playing the role of impact sub—stepped up and curled a beautiful free kick over the wall and towards the corner of the goal. Henninger managed to get a touch on it but could only deflect it in off the crossbar, and it was 1-0 Stanford.
Interestingly, Noyola and Henninger have a history that goes back much farther than their time in Division I soccer. Both sophomores, the pair played with and against each other on various national and club teams.
“I’ve seen her make super saves all the time, so that makes it that much better to get it,” said Noyola. “If it had been just an inch lower, she might’ve gotten to it. She definitely read it well, and I’ve known Bianca for a long time, played with her and against her, and to get one on her was great. She’s a great keeper.”
The teams traded shots to begin the second half, and in the 59th minute, Stanford had a golden opportunity to double its advantage. Noyola was again the architect, getting to the endline on the left before centering for junior Christen Press. The junior got under the bouncing ball, however, and uncharacteristically sent her close range shot over the open goal.
“We wanted to get that second goal, you know, and we had a chance and Christen Press unfortunately missed a good chance that she usually puts away,” Ratcliffe said. “So I wasn’t happy that we didn’t get that second goal.”
The Cardinal players did not let the miss get in their heads, though, and continued to push forward. In the 76th minute, freshman center back Alina Garciamendez got headed a corner kick towards goal and O’Hara redirected it with another header. Henninger was beaten, but Santa Clara’s Kiki Bosio was there to clear the ball off the line and keep the Broncos in the game.
That would be Stanford’s last shot of the game, as- like last weekend’s match against BYU- the one-goal lead led to an anxious final ten minutes.
“I wasn’t happy with how we ended the game. We should’ve cleared the ball a lot better,” Ratcliffe reflected.
Santa Clara nearly equalized with just three minutes remaining: SCU defender Jordan Angeli appeared to mishit her shot from the top of the box, but as the ball looped back down to earth it became clear that it was heading under the crossbar. Luckily for Stanford, junior goalkeeper Kira Maker was alert to the danger and made a leaping save to keep the ball out.
The Card held on for three more minutes, and after yet another gritty tournament victory, the team was on to the quarterfinals for the second straight year.For Santa Clara, meanwhile, the loss was a difficult end to a promising season.“We put in a year’s worth of work just since the end of last season,” reflected Santa Clara Head Coach Jerry Smith. “For us to have the regular season that we did, we got better and stronger, and to get back into the NCAA tournament and back into the Sweet Sixteen, I am so proud of this group for al the effort and commitment, and the only thing that knocked us out at the end was the undisputed number one team in the tournament.”
Stanford will continue its postseason in the Elite Eight next Friday against the Eagles of Boston College (18-3-2).