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ON THE PITCH . . . The Stanford women's soccer team will be well-represented in the next round of the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in Germany, with four Cardinal players still competing. Stanford's Alina Garciamendez scored a crucial equalizer to lift Mexico to a 1-1 draw with Nigeria and into the knockout stages of the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup on Wednesday in Bochum, Germany, when Mexico was in danger of not advancing. And the United States, with three Stanford players, beat South Korea, 1-0, in Bielefeld to win Group D. The U.S. (2-0-1, 7 points) plays Nigeria on Sunday in a quarterfinal in Augsburg while Mexico, the Group C winner, follows with a match against South Korea in Dresden the same day. In the 78th minute of Mexico's match, Garciamendez controlled a ball with her chest and struck a right-footed volley from close range to shoot Mexico from third to first in Group C. The Mexicans (1-0-2, 5 points) tied Nigeria on points, but won on total goals (5-4), with Japan (4 points) eliminated from the tournament despite finishing only a point behind. Garciamendez, who will be a sophomore central defender for the Cardinal this fall, is the captain of the Mexican team. For the USA, Rachel Quon played the entire match at right outside back, and Stanford teammates Teresa Noyola and Courtney Verloo were second-half substitutes. Noyola, who entered in the 57th minute as an attacking midfielder, nearly scored on a dipping shot from the top of the box that was pushed wide by South Korea's keeper.

SOFTBALL HONOR . . . Recent Cardinal graduate Alissa Haber was voted the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) Female Athlete of the Month for June 2010, based on her record-breaking play at the 2010 ISF Women's World Championship in Caracas, Venezuela. The USA Softball Women's National Team was also selected as June 2010's Team of the Month for its performances leading to a seventh consecutive World Gold Medal. Haber made her presence known in her first appearance at Worlds, setting several records while helping Team USA to a ninth overall World Championship on July 2.

COACH OPENINGS . . . Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo-Atherton are looking for some coaches for the upcoming school year. Sacred Heart needs a girls JV head tennis coach and boys JV head tennis coach. Interested applicants please contact AD Frank Rodriguez at 473-4031 or via email at frodriguez@shschools.org. Menlo-Atherton is looking for a girls' varsity golf coach and a boys' frosh-soph soccer coach. Those interested in the positions should contact Mary Podesta at mpodesta@seq.org.