(CHRIS SEEWALD/The Stanford Daily)
The No. 1 Stanford women’s soccer team may be playing in the national championship tournament, but tonight’s Sweet Sixteen match will be a local affair, as the Card takes on Peninsula rival Santa Clara University for a spot in the national quarterfinals.
The game is a rematch of this season’s earlier South Bay derby, which took place at Santa Clara’s Buck Shaw Stadium back on Oct. 1. Although the Broncos took the lead early in that game, the Cardinal ended up with a dominating 6-2 victory, with forwards Kelley O’Hara and Christen Press each notching two goals and an assist. The rout was eerily similar to the 2008 matchup between the two teams, also at Buck Shaw Stadium, in which Stanford stormed to a 5-0 win.
Despite his team’s recent success against SCU, however, Stanford Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe knows that this will be a completely new challenge.
“I’ve seen them play [since the match in October], and I think, like us, they’ve grown as a team,” Ratcliffe said. “[Santa Clara Head Coach] Jerry Smith is a good coach, and they’re playing good soccer, so it should be a really competitive match”
The Cardinal (22-0-0, 9-0-0 Pac-10) comes into the match on the strength of back-to-back 2-0 victories, although neither match in the first two rounds was easy. Last Thursday, Stanford beat Northern Arizona despite a frustrating first half in which it did not score. On Saturday, it faced a nervous second half against a physical BYU team before finally putting the game away in the 89th minute.
BYU in particular seemed to knock Stanford off its usual rhythm, with the Card struggling to keep possession and resorting to long ball tactics. While Ratcliffe and the players emphasized how important it was to be able to win in a different style, it is clear that they would like to be able to use the game plan they have relied upon throughout the season and in seasons past.
“We definitely want to play possession soccer,” Ratcliffe said. “The BYU [match] was a real physical battle . . . I think in the playoffs things get a little tense, so we’ve got to settle down, play with confidence and enjoy it and open up the game.”
Santa Clara (14-6-2) — the four-seed in Stanford’s region — by no means had an easy road to the Sweet Sixteen either. After a 0-0 draw for 90 minutes against Michigan State, it took an overtime goal to get the Broncos out of the first round, and their second round matchup with Oklahoma State saw them go through on penalty kicks after regulation and two overtimes failed to separate the teams at one goal apiece.
Still, Santa Clara can be very tough to beat; in a narrow 1-0 loss to No. 2 Portland at the beginning of November, SCU actually outshot the Pilots 14-7. Interestingly, Portland is the only team averaging more goals per game than Stanford this year, so the Bronco backline certainly seems to have improved since the 6-2 thrashing by the Cardinal.
Stanford’s defense has also improved immensely throughout the year and could get another boost this weekend. Senior fullback Ali Riley, who missed last weekend’s matches with an ankle injury, and sophomore defensive midfielder/utility player Cami Levin, who had to leave the BYU game after a crunching tackle, could both be ready for tonight’s clash.
“They’re both talented players, but [on game day we have to ask] are they healthy enough and physically prepared?” Ratcliffe said. “And if they’re not, we have other great options.”
The Cardinal does indeed have great depth, and all of those players must be ready to play a role during this do-or-die stretch run. Even so, Ratcliffe says he does not believe his team is feeling the pressure as it prepares to put its season on the line once again.
“We’re just excited to be able to continue to train,” he said. “We’re working hard to just take care of business and have fun.”
The match is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. at Cagan Stadium.