Lo’eau LaBonta found herself in the right place at the right time. Then again, she always seems to be in the right place.
“The coaches have made it instinctive,” LaBonta said after scoring in the first five minutes of the first overtime period to lift the fourth-ranked Stanford women’s soccer team to a 1-0 victory over visiting Oregon in Pac-12 action Thursday night.
LaBonta appeared from the left side just as the ball rebounded off Ducks’ goalie Abby Steele following Taylor Uhl’s attempt. Without hesitation, LaBonta fired into the open net and in the blink of an eyelash, the Cardinal won its fifth straight, including two in overtime.
“We always work on following the ball in case of a rebound,” LaBonta said. “This whole team saved the day. All I had to do is follow it up and whip it in after they did all the work.”
Stanford attempted 26 shots in the contest. Steele recorded eight saves and several more shots were redirected by field blocks inside the penalty box. The Cardinal had plenty of opportunities.
“It was ridiculous,” LaBonta said. “We did everything right except the ball hitting the back of the net.”
Stanford (7-1-1 in the Pac-12, 15-1-2 overall) remains in the chase for the conference title, though it seems a long shot with two matches remaining, including Senior Day on Sunday at 3 p.m. against winless Oregon State.
“The important thing is the performance,” Cardinal coach Paul Ratcliffe said. “You can’t always get the goals you want. When we get to the playoffs this is the type of game you come up against.”
Goalie Jane Campbell recorded her 12th shutout of the year, and Stanford recorded its 14th shutout, which matches Northeastern for the national lead.
Men’s soccer
Freshman Corey Baird had the first multi-goal game of his young career and the first for a Cardinal in 2014, as his brace carried No. 8 Stanford to a 2-2 draw with No. 1 UCLA on Thursday night in Westwood.
The two sides have been evenly matched through 220 minutes of action this season. The pair also split two points after playing to a 1-1 stalemate on Oct. 12 on The Farm. Thursday marked the Cardinal’s (9-2-3 overall, 2-1-3 Pac-12) first point in Drake Stadium since a scoreless draw on Oct. 12, 2007.
Trailing 2-1 late in the second half, Baird’s second goal of the match was the much-needed equalizer for a Cardinal squad that was imposing continuous pressure on the Bruins. Standing just outside the 18, Bobby Edwards played the ball across the box to Zach Batteer. The newly minted CoSIDA Academic All-District selection out-jumped his defender and headed it down to Baird, whose volley to the near post slipped past a diving Earl Edwards and to the back of the goal (77′).
The combination secured a point for Stanford, which outshot UCLA (10-3-4, 5-1-2) 16 to 5 and earned 13 corners to just two for the Bruins. In the teams’ two meetings this season, the Cardinal fired off 44 shots to UCLA’s 14.
Baird’s first goal opened the game’s scoring in the 14th minute and again involved Edwards. Austin Meyer’s corner kick was booted out to the mechanical engineering major Edwards, who launched a right-footed blast that pegged the crossbar. The ricochet fell to Stanford’s freshman, who employed a brilliant turn and deposited a clean and hard finish which left Edwards with no hope.
A deep team that leads that Pac-12 with 11 different goal scorers, the program’s most in a season since 2009, Baird’s brace was the first multi-goal effort for a Stanford player this season. He is now tied for second on the team in goals (3) and tied for fourth in points (8).
Stanford has not lost an overtime game since Nov. 1, 2012, a streak that is now at 12. The Cardinal is 5-0-7 in such contests over that span.
Following draws in its last three conference matches, the Cardinal will play the last conference foe it defeated when it meets San Diego State on Sunday at noon. In the teams’ Oct. 9 game at Cagan Stadium, Stanford won 2-0 and its back line did not allow a single shot on frame.
Women’s swimming
Simone Manuel is built for speed. Turns out the freshman sprinter can do distances too.
Manuel won three individual events, including the 500 free, and anchored the winning 200 medley relay team, though the 13th ranked Stanford women’s swimming team dropped a 156-144 nonconference decision to visiting No. 6 Texas on Thursday.
The Longhorns won the last two events, the 400 IM and 200 free relay, to complete their comeback from 24 points down.
“It was a great meet. Texas has given us a really good meet for the past three years,” Cardinal coach Greg Meehan said. “They bring a fun environment to a fall dual meet; it’s a way to get some good races in.”
Manuel, a member of the United States national team, won three events for the second straight meet. The Sugar Land, Texas, native also won the 100 free and 200 free. She has won all eight of her races this year.
Manuel swam the 500 free in a solid 4:48.12, a mere .43 ahead of Texas sophomore Madisyn Cox, a member of the U.S. World University Games team.
Sacred Heart Prep grad Ally Howe won the 200 back in a good showing of 1:59.98 and fellow freshman Janet Hu won the 100 back in 53.43. They also swam with Manuel on the medley relay team, along with Sarah Haase.
Senior Maddy Schaefer took the 50 free by over half of a second (22.82) as Stanford built a 106-82 lead at one point.
“We swam great,” Meehan said. “They just out-swam us. It’s a good reminder that over the course of a 16-event meet, two points would have changed the outcome.”
Sanford is back at Avery Aquatic Center on Nov. 8 when Wisconsin’s men’s and women’s teams make the trip West.
Thursday’s event was billed as a “Pink Out,” with Meehan and Texas head coach Carol Capitani each donating $1 to charities for every fan in pink. Meehan split his donation between Susan G. Komen for a Cure San Francisco and the Movember Foundation. Capitani vowed to donate to Komen Austin.
“It was a fun way to help raise awareness and help raise funds for cancer,” Meehan said of the over 200 fans that showed up in pink attire.
Men’s soccer
Freshman Corey Baird had the first multi-goal game of his young career and the first for a Cardinal in 2014, as his brace carried the No. 8 Stanford men’s soccer team to a 2-2 draw with No. 1 UCLA on Thursday night in a Pac-12 match.
The two sides have been evenly matched through 220 minutes of action this season. The pair also split two points after playing to a 1-1 stalemate on Oct. 12 on The Farm.
Thursday marked the Cardinal’s (9-2-3 overall, 2-1-3 Pac-12) first point in Drake Stadium since a scoreless draw on Oct. 12, 2007.
Trailing 2-1 late in the second half, Baird’s second goal of the match was the much-needed equalizer for a Cardinal squad that was imposing continuous pressure on the Bruins.
Standing just outside the 18, Bobby Edwards played the ball across the box to Zach Batteer. The newly minted CoSIDA Academic All-District selection out-jumped his defender and headed it down to Baird, whose volley to the near post slipped past a diving Earl Edwards and to the back of the goal.
The combination secured a point for Stanford, which outshot UCLA (10-3-4, 5-1-2) 16 to 5 and earned 13 corners to just two for the Bruins. In the teams’ two meetings this season, the Cardinal fired off 44 shots to UCLA’s 14.
Baird’s first goal opened the game’s scoring in the 14th minute and again involved Edwards.
Austin Meyer’s corner kick was booted out to Edwards, who launched a right-footed blast that pegged the crossbar. The ricochet fell to Stanford’s freshman, who employed a brilliant turn and deposited a clean and hard finish which left Earl Edwards with no chance.
A deep team that leads that Pac-12 with 11 different goal scorers, the program’s most in a season since 2009, Baird’s brace was the first multi-goal effort for a Stanford player this season.
— Stanford Athletics contributed to this report
— Stanford Athletics contributed to this report
— Stanford Athletics contributed to this report