Weekend update: Women’s soccer’s 25-game win streak snapped; field hockey nearly upsets No. 1 Mayland

Aug. 26, 2012, 5:12 p.m.

Women’s Soccer: After winning its second game of the season Friday against No. 6 Penn State, the No. 1 Stanford women’s soccer team (2-1) had its win streak snapped at 25 games by unranked West Virginia (2-2) at the Penn State Invitational on Sunday.

“Soccer can be a cruel sport at times,” Cardinal head coach Paul Ratcliffe told GoStanford.com.

An 83rd-minute goal by Mountaineers junior Frances Silva was the only tally of the match. Though Stanford was still without the services of injured junior goalkeeper Emily Oliver, the Cardinal’s lacking offense really made all the difference, as only one of its 17 shots was on goal.

Stanford has still won 51 consecutive matches on its home turf, dating back to 2007. That streak will soon be put to the test, as the Cardinal plays six of its next eight at home, beginning with a Friday-afternoon matchup with Boston College.

Field Hockey: The No. 11 Cardinal (1-1) came within four minutes of upsetting No. 1 Maryland (2-0) at Stanford’s Varsity Turf on Sunday afternoon, ceding the tying goal late in regulation and eventually falling 3-2 in the final seconds of double overtime.

In a game televised in the Bay Area on the Pac-12 Networks, the Cardinal battled back from a 1-0 halftime deficit with second-half goals by sophomore Alex McCawley and freshman Jessica Chisholm. But Jill Witmer’s second goal of the game made it 2-2 in the 67th minute and sent the teams into overtime.

Though Maryland played shorthanded the last nine minutes after a yellow card early in the second overtime, Stanford could not capitalize and eventually yielded Katie Gerzabek’s winner off a penalty corner.

The Cardinal had opened its season with a resounding, 10-0 win over La Salle on Friday. It will host No. 20 Northwestern on Wednesday at noon.

Women’s Volleyball: No. 6 Stanford (2-1) swept each of its first two matches in the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii against Saint Mary’s and Albany. It then faced host No. 8 Hawaii on Sunday night and picked up the first set before dropping three straight, losing for the first time this season 17-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-17.

Men’s Soccer: Head coach Jeremy Gunn’s Stanford tenure began with a 1-0 win at San Francisco Friday night, as a second-minute goal by freshman Aaron Koval proved enough of an edge to earn the Cardinal (1-0) a victory. The squad now travels to Charleston for two games next weekend as part of the College of Charleston Tournament.

—Joseph Beyda

The Daily Sports Staff is the collective moniker of an overworked, beleaguered, underpaid collection of sportswriters that feel comfortable enough with their own self-identities to give up any sense of individualism for the good of the sports section. To contact The Daily Sports Staff, send an email to the managing editor(s) of the sports staff (sports 'at' stanforddaily.com), keepers of the souls of those sportswriters.

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