What better way for the second-ranked Stanford women's soccer team to celebrate a victory over a top-10 team than by playing another one?
That's exactly what the Cardinal (4-0) is doing this weekend when No. 7 Penn State (3-1-1) comes to town for a Friday night match at 8 p.m., to be televised by the Pac-12 Networks.
Stanford, ranked first by Soccer America and second by the NSCAA, started the week with a 1-0 victory over then-No. 9 BYU on Monday. The Nittany Lions are coming off their first loss of the year, a 1-0 decision to West Virginia.
Freshman Jordan DiBiasi scored the first goal of her collegiate career to help lead the Cardinal past the Cougars, who allowed their first goal of the year.
The Cardinal held advantages in shots (13-9) and corner kicks (9-4) but faced challenges from BYU throughout the game. The Cardinal extended its shutout streak to 359:29 minutes and has not been scored on since the 31 second mark of its season-opener at Hawai'i.
"We have to take that momentum and carry it over into this weekend," Stanford junior defender Maddie Bauer told the Pac-12 Networks. "Right when the BYU game was over we were already looking forward to Friday. It's a huge game for us."
Stanford and Penn State have met twice, once at Stanford in 2011 and once at Penn State in 2012. The 2011 match included all three 2011 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy finalists: Teresa Noyola (the eventual winner), Lindsay Taylor of Stanford and Maya Hayes of Penn State. The Cardinal won both matches.
Stanford hosts Oklahoma (3-2) on Sunday at 1 p.m. They will be meeting for the first time in 13 years.
The Cardinal has not allowed more than two goals in a match over its past 238 contests, since a 4-0 loss to North Carolina on Sept. 11, 2005, in San Francisco.
Stanford hasn't allowed more than two goals in a match at home since Oct. 5, 1998, in a 3-2 overtime loss to BYU and hasn't allowed more than two at home in regulation since Oct. 10, 1997, in a 3-2 loss to USC.
The Cardinal has outshot opponents, 79-19, and holds a 36-4 corner kick advantage this season.
Stanford did not permit a corner kick for a span of 348:34 minutes to start the season. The Cardinal registered 36 consecutive corner kicks and did not allow the opposition an opportunity until the fourth game of the season when No. 9 BYU earned a corner kick at 78:34.
Men's soccer
No. 13 Stanford (3-1 entering Thursday night's match against San Jose State) plays at SMU at 5 p.m. (PT) Sunday looking for its first win over the Mustangs in 11 years.
Stanford swept both games at Cagan Stadium last weekend, defeating Northeastern on Friday, 1-0, and VCU on Sunday, 2-0. Slater Meehan scored his second career goal to lead the Cardinal over the Huskies.
Against the Rams, Foster Langsdorf scored once and assisted on another, Corey Baird helped set up Langsdorf's header, Adam Mosharrafa scored the first of his career and Eric Verso played a role in both goals.
Stanford owns a 3-2-1 all-time record against SMU, the last result a 2-0 Mustangs victory at the Cal Legacy Classic on September 5, 2008. The Cardinal's last win came in Dallas at the Mi Cocina Classic, 2-1, on September 5, 2004.
Stanford, which last year led the Pac-12 in goals against average for the first time since 2002, has won three straight matches without allowing a goal. The Cardinal's shutout streak is currently at 318:12, its longest since midway through the 2007 season (575:51).
Jordan Morris, who missed Sunday's win over VCU, returned to the Cardinal lineup after coming on for Jozy Altidoe in the 57th minute of the U.S. Men's National Team's 4-1 loss to Brazil in Foxborough, Mass., on Tuesday night. It was the junior's sixth USMNT cap.
Freshman Amir Bashti made his home debut for Stanford after missing the past two matches. He has been with the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team at the Stevan Vilotic-Cele Tournament in Serbia. Bashti came on in the 32nd minute of the United States' 6-1 loss to France in Senta on September 4 and entered a 2-0 victory over Israel in Backa Topola on September 7 in the 78th minute.
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