Publication Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Gamble pays off for Stanford women's soccer team in Pac-10 sweep
Gamble pays off for Stanford women's soccer team in Pac-10 sweep
(October 12, 2005) by Rick Eymer
Alex Gamble may have felt more like a spectator than a participant over the weekend and that's probably just fine with her.
Gamble, who plays goalkeeper for the 19th-ranked Stanford women's soccer team, got her fifth and sixth shutouts of the season as the Cardinal opened Pac-10 Conference play with a pair of 1-0 victories over Washington State on Friday night and Washington on Sunday.
Gamble, a freshman out of Temecula (roughly 30 miles northeast of San Diego), saw just three shots from each of the Washington schools and recorded three combined saves as the defense dominated play in helping Stanford open 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2002.
The Cardinal (8-3-1 overall) hosts 13th-ranked California on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Shari Summers scored the game's only goal against the Cougars in the 70th minute. Hayley Hunt sent a pass in the front of the net and Summers' ground shot found its way across the line.
Summers also helped on Stanford's goal against the Huskies. Her corner kick ignited a scramble in front of the net. Freshman Hillary Heath, who attended high school in Seattle, recorded her first collegiate goal when she sent the ball into the back of the net in the 27th minute.
Heath became the ninth Cardinal to record a goal. Gamble has recorded 31 saves in 11 matches and has an .084 goals against average.
Stanford is playing without senior midfielder Leah Tapscott, who sustained a leg injury against Navy in late September. She's currently on crutches and could return in time for the postseason.
Men's soccer
Defense hasn't been much of a problem for Stanford, which has allowed a mere nine goals in 11 matches. Offense is a different matter.
The Cardinal (0-2-1, 3-6-2) was shut out for the sixth time this season in a 1-0 loss to 18th-ranked California on Saturday night at Maloney Field.
Stanford also lost freshman midfielder-forward T.J. Novak to a fractured right leg - a crunching sound was audible in the stands when a Cal defender slid into him - in the 18th minute.
Novak was the Gatorade state Player of the Year out of Rockwood Summit High in Missouri last year. He has appeared in all 11 matches, starting five.
Junior goalkeeper Andrew Kartunen has an 0.67 goals against average in his seven matches, an average that would rank seventh all-time for a single season.
Stanford has suffered four 1-0 defeats and have lost five matches by one goal. Marcus Ryan leads the team with four goals, and he's just one of three players who have scored (a total of seven goals) for the Cardinal.
Stanford hosts Washington on Friday at 7 p.m., and conference leader Oregon State on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Women's tennis
Stanford senior Alice Barnes reached the semifinals of the ITA All-American Championship at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday before losing her first match of the season.
The sixth-ranked Barnes lost, 6-2, 6-2, to fifth-ranked Daniela Bercek of Duke.
Barnes won her first three matches of the tournament, defeating Northwestern's Cristelle Grier, 6-1, 6-2; beating 34th-ranked Diana Srebovic of Florida, 6-3, 6-4; and topping fourth-ranked Robin Stephenson of Alabama in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-1.
Stanford hosts the ITA Northwest Regionals at the Taube Tennis Center, beginning Friday, Oct. 21.
Junior Anne Yelsey, who knocked off top-ranked Jennifer Magley of Florida, 6-2, 6-2, on Thursday, defeated No. 21 Helena Besovic of TCU, 6-1, 7-6 (4), on Friday before losing to Bercek, 7-5, 6-0, in the quarterfinals.
Junior Theresa Logar fell in the second round, 6-3, 6-1, to USC's Amanda Fink.
Men's tennis
Stanford freshman Matt Bruch reached the semifinals of the Polo Ralph Lauren Men's Tennis All-American championships in Tulsa before losing to Georgia's John Isner, 7-5 (3), 6-4, on Saturday.
Bruch, who had to qualify for the main draw, won seven matches before running into the fourth seeded Isner. Bruch defeated Luigi D'Argord of Miami 7-5, 6-2, in the quarterfinals.
In doubles play, KC Corkery and Menlo School grad James Pade defeated Matija Zgaga and Lars Poerschke of Baylor, 8-2, in a quarterfinal match.
Corkery and Pade were eliminated in the semifinals by Andreas Silestrom and Marco Born of Middle Tennessee State, 8-4.
At the Bronco Class in Santa Clara, Stanford's Phil Kao defeated teammate Stan Muller, 6-3, 6-4, in the finals of the Blue Division. Muller was seeded second in the tournament.
Both players won three matches to reach Sunday's final.
Field hockey
Stanford beat Davidson, 5-1, in a Nor Pac Conference road match on Friday and then lost to third-ranked North Carolina, 4-0, in a nonconference match on Sunday.
The Cardinal (2-2, 4-11) dropped a 6-1 decision to top-ranked Wake Forest on Monday.
Senior Lyndsay Erickson scored twice in the win over the Wildcats. Jaime Hais, Bailey Richardson and Caroline Hussey also scored.
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