It didn’t come easily, but after more than thirty shots, Stanford was able to break through for a goal against Sacramento State in Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener. Freshman Sidney Payne knocked in the winning score and assisted on two later goals for the top-seeded Cardinal, while her classmate and goalkeeper Emily Oliver secured the 3-0 shutout. All of Stanford’s goals – Payne’s, along with two more from freshman Taylor McCann and sophomore Nina Watkins – came from freshmen or players off the bench.
Stanford (19-0-2) had more than its share of chances in the first half, when the Cardinal outshot the Hornets (9-10-1) by a margin of 19-2. But for every look that Stanford had, it either just missed the mark or was turned away by Hornet keeper Savannah Abercrombie.
One of the Cardinal’s best first-half opportunities came in the sixth minute, when senior forward Christen Press launched a high blast from inside the box that bounced off the crossbar and over to junior forward Lindsay Taylor on the left side. After controlling for a moment, Taylor fired a low shot that Abercrombie was just able to dive down and save.
As Stanford continued to maintain control on offense, it kept up the pressure on the Hornet goal. Junior midfielder Teresa Noyola hit the corner on a powerful free kick in the 16th minute, and Press had a pair of long-distance shots to the upper corner knocked away in the 20th and 30th minutes. At the end of the half, Press had seven shots.
Stanford’s most prominent forward had another excellent chance to open the second frame, dekeing past a Hornet defender on the right side of the box before firing a low shot the Abercrombie was just able to knock away. On the same possession, Press took a corner kick from Noyola and was denied on a shot just under the crossbar.
Stanford coach Paul Ratcliffe, whose team defeated Sacramento State, 7-0, in a 2007 meeting, had nothing but praise for the Hornets’ defensive tenacity.
“I was very impressed with Sacramento State, I think [head coach] Randy [Dedini] organized his team with a great game plan,” he said. “Their team really battled hard and made it a really tough game, and obviously their goalkeeper was realy tremendous in the first half and in the second half. She made some spectacular saves.
It took an unusual play for the Cardinal to finally break through. In the 65th minute, sophomore defender Rachel Quon sent a cross pass from the right side into the box, where Payne made a quick spin move before taping it past Abercrombie with a back-heel. For Payne, who was subbed in just a few minutes earlier, it was the second goal of her freshman season. Along with Quon, junior defender Camille Levin was credited with an assist.
The goal came in a flash, and Payne said she relied mostly on instinct to make the game-winning reaction.
“I think I hit it with my back heel,” she said. “I just tried to make contact and get the goal.”
Ratcliffe was happy to defend his choice of substituting Payne, who he says has been making great strides in practice.
“Sydney’s been training very, very well, and she’s been getting better and better as a player,” he said. “I knew she could go in and score the goal, there was no doubt in my mind that she could break the ice for us, and she did.”
With eight minutes to go, McCann knocked in some insurance for Stanford. After recovering a Payne rebound in the box amidst a flurry of defenders, McCann powered a shot that deflected off a sliding Hornet defender and snuck into the right side of the goal. It was McCann’s second career goal, coming on the 40th shot of the game for the Cardinal. The team posted a total of 42 for the contest.
A few minutes later, Payne contributed to yet again with an assist on the Cardinal’s third and final goal. After knocking a centering pass onto the box, Watkins fired a header from a few yards out the beat Abercrombie on the left side. It was the first goal of Watkins’ collegiate career.
Out of the 10 points tallied by Stanford’s offense (two for a goal, one for an assist), all but two came from freshmen or substitutes.
“It’s great to have players that can come in, especially freshmen, and have a big impact and score goals for us,” Ratcliffe said. “It’s great for the team spirit, and it’s a credit to the freshman that they’ve worked so hard this year and been so tremendous for us.”
Missing out on the Cardinal victory on Friday was sophomore forward Courtney Verloo, who was scratched with an undisclosed injury. Ratcliffe says she’s day-to-day, and may play in the team’s next game.
That matchup will come against Santa Clara, which defeated Long Beach State earlier on Friday. With a win, the Cardinal would advance to the Sweet 16. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.