Allison McCann scored one of three Stanford goals in a 3-0 victory over host Arizona in a Pac-10 women's soccer match Sunday. Photo by David Gonzales
Christen Press, Allison McCann and Lindsay Taylor all scored goals and the top-ranked Stanford women's soccer remained unbeaten, sliding past host Arizona, 3-0, in a Pac-10 match Sunday.
Press has recorded at least one point in each of her past 16 matches for Stanford (6-0, 15-0-2), which travels to California for a 3 p.m. first kick Saturday.
Freshman goalkeeper Emily Oliver was credited with her fifth shutout of the season. Stanford has allowed one goal over its past five matches.
"The defense is definitely getting stronger," Stanford coach Paul Ratcliffe said. "They're covering for each other better, and their reading of the game is improving. The whole back five is just playing with more confidence as a group."
Stanford, the nation's only undefeated team, extended several streaks. The Cardinal has won for the 18th consecutive time on an opponent's home field, earned its 17th consecutive Pac-10 victory and owns a 40-match regular-season unbeaten streak.
"The defense is incredible," McCann said. "The last couple of weeks, they've really gotten in synch together. They've really been knocking the ball around, not only defensively, but offensively as defenders. Even the defense is getting involved in the offense."
Offensively, Press, who entered the weekend as the nation's leading scorer, scored on "a remarkable shot," Ratcliffe said, of the long-range laser to the upper right corner. "It was a picture perfect goal."
McCann, a senior who had scored only one goal in her first three years, scored her fourth of the season, in the 61st minute. She took a cross from Teresa Noyola and scored from the near post.
It was Noyola's 10th assist of the season, and the play continued to show that McCann has added an offensive dimension with her emergence as a scoring option.
"Allie is having a tremendous season," Ratcliffe said. "She's scoring goals, she's playing a great defensive midfield, and she's a team captain. All these things speak volumes for what she means to the team."
Said McCann, "I definitely think it's a confidence thing. Not only do I feel more comfortable, but I feel like I'm much more of a presence. And physically, I just feel stronger and faster than I did last year."
Taylor closed the scoring with her eighth goal of the season, beating a defender one-on-one on the wing and sinking a hard low shot into the net in the 65th minute.
Jacob Smith and Sage Wright each scored three goals and fourth-ranked Stanford beat host Pepperdine, 15-6, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game Sunday.
The Cardinal (3-1, 9-5) remains in the Bay Area next weekend for a nonconference contest against host Santa Clara Friday at 6 p.m.
Sacred Heart Prep grad Paul Rudolph added twp goals as did redshirt freshman Forrest Watkins. Sophomore Tim Norton, also an SH Prep grad, added a goal.
Redshirt junior goalie Brian Pingree continued his All-American type season with eight saves. He kept the Waves out of the net in the first quarter as Stanford established control early, taking a 5-0 advantage.
The rain may have dampened the field but No. 19 Stanford had plenty to celebrate Sunday, beating Pacific, 6-0, in a NorPac Conference contest on Senior Day.
Sophomores Becky Dru and Devon Holman, and freshman Courtney Haldeman scored goals for the Cardinal (4-1, 10-5), which travels to California for the regular-season finale on Oct. 29.
Travlos, Gandhi and Swank all scored goals in the second half and Moss shared the shutout with Julia LaSalvia.
They are part of a class that has helped Stanford win three consecutive NorPac tournament championships and advance to a pair of NCAA appearances. Sunday's win was No. 49 for the seniors.
The Cardinal will likely extend its school record streak of consecutive weeks ranked in the top 20 to 18 when the latest version is released later in the week.
Sihwan Kim and Andrew Yun each shot a 1-under-par 71 in the first round of the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational on Sunday in Florida.
Cameron Wilson added a 1-over 73 as Stanford finished the day tied with TCU for first place in the tournament, each with a 2-over 290.
San Diego State scored an early goal and held on to beat visiting Stanford, 1-0, in a Pac-10 match Sunday.
The Cardinal (3-4, 7-8) matched the Aztecs with 11 shots and six corners but could not produce a matching goal.
Stanford finished in ninth place at the Sherman Hoyt Trophy at Brown University and 12th at the women's Stu Nelson Regatta at Connecticut College following two-days of sailing in New England.
Molly McKinney and Rebecca King had the best divisional finish of the four Stanford divisions, with McKinney skippering the B Division at the Stu Nelson to the eighth-best finish among 18 competors, for 70 points.
The duo finished in the top-10 in six of eight races, and would of likely moved up even further if not for a disqualification on the fourth race of day one. Stanford overall was six points out of ninth place. The A Division skippered by Sally Mace, tallied 89 points, with a best finish of seventh in the final race. Overall it had159 points among 18 competitors.
In Providence, at the Sherman Hoyt Trophy, the team of Kevin Laube and Carolyn Ortel were ninth in the A division with 78 points over eight races. The B Division skippered by Oliver Toole had 62 points, the 10th-best divisional score. The two teams combined for 159 points.