Photo

Palo Alto grad Teresa Noyola scored on a free kick late in the first half and it held up for the Stanford women's soccer team, which held on to beat visiting Santa Clara, 1-0, in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament on Friday night.

"The playoffs are like that. It's sometimes a battle to the end," Noyola said. "It's do or die for them, obviously, and us. That's how it's going to be for every team. We're not going to win 6-2 in the playoffs."

The top-ranked Cardinal (23-0) hosts Boston College next weekend in the quarterfinals. The Eagles beat Wisconsin, 1-0, on Friday, and have shut out three opponents thus far.

The 23 wins set a school record for most wins in a season.

The familiar foes battled each other through a physical first half, with both teams being called for more fouls than normal.

Noyola, who entered the game midway through the first half, found herself in the same situation she faced a week earlier in the first round against Northern Arizona. She just missed scoring then.

Noyola took full advantage of her second opportunity, setting up for a free kick from 25 yards out and then kicking it into the back of the net to break a scoreless tie.

"If it had been an inch lower, she might have gotten to it," Noyola said. "She did read it well, which made it even more exciting. I've known Bianca for a long time, played with her, played against her, and to get one on her was great. She's a great keeper."

Noyola's goal was Stanford's 11th shot of the game (to Santa Clara's four). The Cardinal held a 14-4 shot advantage in the first half.

The 11th-ranked Broncos pressured Stanford in the second half, with Kira Maker making the save of the evening with two minutes to play and Ali Riley was able to clear it.

"All I remember is the ball coming to Kira, I turned around a saw her pat it up into the corner and then it just bounced," Riley said. "I didn't know if anyone was around but I just kicked it as hard as I could towards the stands over there. She did awesome, and it wasn't easy with the hecklers behind her, so I was really proud of her."

Stanford outshot the Broncos, 21-8.

-- Palo Alto Online Sports