Stanford women's soccer still has a shot Stanford women's soccer still has a shot (November 03, 2004)

by Rick Eymer

With a pair of matches remaining on its regular season schedule, the Stanford women's soccer team still has a chance to win the Pac-10 Conference title - or finish as low as seventh.

The Cardinal took care of business over the weekend, beating visiting Oregon State, 1-0, on Sunday after topping Oregon, 2-0, on Friday, and moved into a third-place tie in the conference with Arizona State.

Stanford (4-2-1, 12-4-2) was part of a major shift in the Pac-10 standings following play over the weekend. Arizona (5-2, 13-5) leapfrogged into a first-place tie from fourth place after upsetting UCLA (5-3, 12-6) on Sunday.

The Wildcats need a victory and at least a tie in their final matches to clinch their first ever conference title. They travel to the Oregon schools, the ninth and 10th place teams.

UCLA and USC (3-5, 9-8-1) play each other this weekend.

Stanford has a difficult road trip, heading to Washington for match against the Huskies (3-3-1, 12-4-1) on Friday at 5 p.m. and to Washington State (3-3-1, 8-6-3) on Sunday. A pair of victories would guarantee the Cardinal at least second place, and could result in their first title since finishing the 2002 season undefeated in conference play.

Stanford likely guaranteed its spot in the NCAA tournament after beating both Oregon schools. The tournament field will be announced on Monday at 1:30 p.m. on ESPNews.

Junior Leah Tapscott scored Stanford's goal in the win over Oregon State, after taking a crossing pass from senior Emilee Shim. Senior goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart needed just one save for her eighth shutout.

Barnhart's 37 career shutouts are second on the Cardinal career list, three behind Leslie Garrard. She also needs two saves to match Garrard (194) for third on the career list.

Against Oregon, the Cardinal scored twice in the final 10 minutes of the contest. Stanford outshot the Ducks, 18-5.

Sophomore Shari Summers scored in the 81st minute with an assist from senior Natalie Sanderson, and senior Marcie Ward scored with an assist from Tapscott two minutes later for Stanford.
Women's swimming

Freshman Caroline Bruce continues to make an immediate impact on the Stanford program, recording four victories in the Cardinal's 197-156 loss to host Texas over the weekend.

Bruce bettered her own times in winning both the 100 breast (1:01.70) and 200 breast (2:12.28), placing her fifth on the Cardinal career list in both events.

Bruce, an Olympian, remains on track to match Tara Kirk's freshman year success. Kirk swam a 59.18 in wining the NCAA title in the 100 breast in 2001, and swam the nation's fastest time in 200 breast (2:08.54) in winning the Pac-10 title that year.

"Caroline Bruce had an outstanding meet," Stanford coach Richard Quick said. "She's just a tough competitor, and that's really had a positive influence on our team."

She also won the 200 IM in 2:02.28 and the 400 IM in 4:16.92.

Junior Dana Kirk, nursing a back problem, and senior Amy Wagner, who was ill, did not make the trip to Texas, and junior Kristen Caverly was unable to compete because of a back problem. Kirk and Caverly both swam in the summer Olympics.

Other winners for the Cardinal included sophomore Desiree Stahley, who won the 500 free in a time of 4:51.85, .20 seconds off her career-best; freshman Brooke Bishop (23.46 in the 50 free); sophomore Lauren Costella (16:38.83 in the 1,650 free); senior diver Ashlee Rosenthal (276.55 in the 1-meter event); and sophomore diver Cassidy Krug (471.50 in the 3-meter event).

"I'm thrilled as could be with our divers, and we also had some big performances from Brooke Bishop, as well as our distance freestyle group," Quick said. "Even though we lost the meet, there is a lot to build on. I plan on using this meet as a stepping stone for our improvement as a team, and we'll just keep getting better."

The diving team competes at the Trojan Invite, which begins Friday.
Men's water polo

Stanford returns home for the first time in early a month when Loyola Marymount visits for a nonconference match on Friday at 7 p.m.

The second-ranked Cardinal (4-1, 16-3) also host Pacific in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation contest on Saturday at noon.

Stanford rebounded from a disappointing 7-4 loss to top-ranked UCLA on Saturday with a 10-5 win over fourth-ranked UC Santa Barbara on Sunday.

With five games remaining on the regular season schedule, Stanford begins to gear up for the MPSF tournament, which will be held at Avery Aquatic Center beginning Nov. 26.

Senior Tony Azevedo, one of the most recognized names on campus, led the team in scoring in both games while eclipsing 300 goals for his career.

Azevedo scored three goals against the Gauchos, while getting all four goals against the Bruins.

Junior goalkeeper Chad Taylor had 13 saves against UC Santa Barbara.

UCLA (5-0, 17-2) beat the Cardinal for the second time this season, and appear to be the team to beat heading into the final weeks of the season.
Men's soccer

Stanford ended its longest losing streak of the season at three, and remained in contention for a berth in the NCAA tournament with a 2-0 victory over visiting Oregon State on Sunday.

The Cardinal (2-3-2, 7-4-5) lost to Washington, 1-0, on Friday night.

Stanford has two matches remaining on its regular season, including Saturday's game at UC Santa Barbara.

Seniors Matt Janusz and Robby Fulton made sure the Stanford senior class ended their home careers on a winning note. Janusz scored both goals and Fulton recorded his first career assist in nailing down his second shutout in the win over the Beavers.

Janusz collected a goal kick from Fulton and headed the ball toward the net for a goal in the 28th minute. He also scored on a penalty kick.

"I think all of our seniors had good games and that was the difference," Stanford coach Bret Simon said. "Each one of them had important moments where they had to make plays and they made them for us today."

The Huskies won with a goal in the final two minutes of play.
Women's volleyball

Senior outside hitter Ogonna Nnamani recorded 28 kills in Stanford's 30-21, 30-25, 28-30, 24-30, 15-9 loss to host California in a Pac-10 contest on Sunday.

The Cardinal (7-3, 15-6) fell into a third-place with Cal, a game behind USC, which visits Stanford on Friday at 7 p.m. UCLA also comes to town on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Nnamani currently has 2,094 career kills, 21 behind former UCLA star Natalie Williams for second all-time on the Pac-10 list. UCLA grad Kristee Porter is the conference leader with 2,255.

Sophomore outside hitter Kristin Richards recorded a double-double with 16 kills and 13 digs, while freshman Franci Girard added 11 kills.
Field hockey

Stanford dropped a 4-0 decision to California on Saturday in the regular season Nor Pac finale.

The Cardinal (0-6, 6-11) meet Radford in the first round of the conference tournament on Thursday at Davidson.

"It's time to recollect ourselves and get focused on the NorPac Tournament," Stanford coach Lesley Irvine said. "This is a great opportunity for us, and I have high expectations. Every team begins this event with a shot to win it and move on to the postseason. We get to wipe our slate clean."
Women's tennis

California's Suzi Babos defeated Stanford's Alice Barnes, 6-2, 6-4, at the Taube Tennis Stadium on Thursday to win the Wilson/ITA Northwest Regional singles championship.

Barnes and Babos advance to the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships at the University of Michigan beginning Thursday.

Senior Erin Burdette earned an at-large bid to Nationals after posting a 4-1 record at the Northwest Regional and before falling in the semifinals last weekend.

Barnes and Burdette also earned a bid to the doubles tournament.
Men's tennis

Junior KC Corkery and Senior Sam Warburg won the Wilson/ITA Regional doubles title in Berkeley and advanced to the ITA National Indoor Championship, which begins Thursday.

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