This game is being broadcast again in the next hour on ESPNU, for those that missed the match. It'll also be archived on ESPN3.
Wow. Victory from the jaws of defeat. Amazing game. Congrats to Courtney for her first collegiate hat trick. She's like a female Beckham with some of those free kick goals she's scored.
Truly a really fun game to watch in person. Whether you agree or disagree with the final foul call, the referee made an even bigger error in missing a handling call just before the free kick was taken. Check the tape. The foul is called and Stanford asks for its ten yards. The referee marks the yardage off and then positions himself for the free kick. He then blows his whistle to resume action. After the whistle is blown the Stanford player reaches down and adjusts the ball with her hands. Hand ball. Not only that, but it's a deliberate hand ball and if he was following the FIFA guidelines that player should have received a caution. At the very least the handling call should have been made, no goal, SCU free kick.
This is not correct. In a dead ball situation where play must be restarted with a whistle (such as when a player asks for 10 yards), the ball is dead until it is kicked and moves. The whistle merely indicates that the player is allowed to take the restart when ready. Play does not resume and the clock does not start until the ball is properly put into play with a free kick. So adjusting the ball before kicking it is not a handling offense. As for the foul itself, that was definitely a borderline call at a critical moment in the game. On the ESPN3 replay, it looked like both the Stanford player and Santa Clara player challenged for the ball. The Stanford player touched it away. The Santa Clara player was a fraction of a second late, and kicked the Stanford player in the lower leg. She fell and the Santa Clara player fell over here. Could that have been a non-call? Absolutely. But could it have been a foul? The referee was in the best position of anyone to see -- a few yards away and with a good view. The crowd, coaches and announcers didn't have a good look. (The announcers seemed to think the Stanford player took down the Santa Clara player. But it was either a no call, let them keep playing, or a foul against Santa Clara.) So, tough way to lose for Santa Clara. Great shot by Courtney to end it. And an excellent match played by two rivals who are on much more level ground this season and should both be top ten teams.
Wow, what an unbelievable finish and wonderful win, but I felt kind of bad for the Broncos. They scored the only truly deserved goals of the match, two of the best goals we will see this season, yet somehow self-destructed in the 90th minute and beyond, with a little help from the CR. Flashing green light: I am now convinced the season rests on the shoulders of one player: Courtney Verloo. The rest are playing like supporting actors, granted with a ton of size, speed and stamina. But it may be too much to ask Courtney to carry the team by herself, especially now that Emily is done. Yellow lights: Chioma is the most gifted player of the team, but she seems zoned out. I thought that by now she would be linking more effectively with Courtney, but something is not clicking. Maybe it's Uhl, who I still don't like, goals and all. Sorry, she's just my cup of tea (nor is she, I suspect, Chioma's). The middies are still finding their way and seem to succeed with simplicity and physicality. I am starting to embrace their work ethic and coming to terms that we will not see the beautiful and entrancing possession and creativity of yesteryear, when Garciamendez, Nogueira, Noyola and Levin would dismantle opponents by weaving webs of magical plays to provide ball after ball to Taylor, Press and O'Hara. This year's midfield is doing it the old-fashioned, Dick Butkus way. Red light: Campbell was awful and would have been the game's goat had the Broncos prevailed. She impressed me in previous showings, but last night she played like a scared and arrogant millenial freshman, a dangerous combination. I hope the coaches take advantage of the stinker and help Campbell grow from the experience.
Just wanted to add a congratulations to Emily Oliver here. it is a shame to see her have to quit soccer. She was by far the best college goalkeeper I have ever seen. I was at the Duke- Stanford College Cup final and watched the Notre Dame- Stanford final. I was also at the UNC - Stanford final. I am pretty sure she was GK in all 3 games (correct?) She was particularly phenomenal in the notre dame- stanford final. Fearless. What a tremendous college soccer player.
SCUFantastic, I completely agree. Both Santa Clara goals were brilliant and definitely were not keeper errors. Watching from the stands more or less behind Huerta's shot -- it was a thing of beauty. Perfectly struck and placed where a goalkeeper could not have saved it. Jane also made one excellent reflex save on a close-in shot in the first half where there was a defensive breakdown and she had to block a shot with her body. I believe it ended up in the goal area where she got some help from her defenders, but I don't think that would be held against her by most coaches. Beyond that, there wasn't much to do because Santa Clara had so few shots on goal. All I can say is Wow! I don't know what you have against Jane. She's a freshman and she's probably entitled to a few freshman mistakes. But everything about her training and pedigree points to her becoming an outstanding keeper in the tradition of great Stanford keepers since Nicole Barnhart.
I might have to agree with both Wowow and SCU Fantastic. I think the real issue is that JC is not EO. Emily Oliver has a special gift and it will be awhile before anyone fills her shoes. If ever. I love reading Wowow's recaps because they are so right on, not sugarcoated, and usually with logical preferences. I didn't quite understand the dislike of Uhl's style, but I totally get the preference of Ubogagu because she moves so beautifully and is so satisfyingly technical. I found myself almost disappointed every time a Bronco took her ball away - and I was rooting for Santa Clara! Honestly I wonder if she's still fighting injury - she just doesn't seem as confident as before. Verloo is clearly the college dead ball expert! I wish she'd graduated last year...
well said re: EO. huge loss of a great competitor. I hope the new keeper reaches her heights and I think that seems to be very likely. GO CARD!!
For 45 minutes, Stanford did not look like the #2 team at Colorado, except for the defense. Colorado had good offensive possession but only managed three shots, one on goal, in the first half. Meanwhile the Buffs' defense (which is solid this year) held the Cardinal to three shots, none on goal. Similar to last year when Stanford had one shot on goal in the first half, actually trailed 1-0, but took over in the second half to win 2-1. Deja vu all over again, except this time the Cardinal didn't have to come from behind. Colorado's leading scorer is injured and did not play, she would have added some spark to the offense but her absence did not change the result. Jane Campbell made one boo-boo, bobbled a shot right at her head, but she snatched it before damage was done. Other than that, she was continually disruptive anytime the ball was in the air anywhere near her goal, denying CU several scoring opportunities. As far as the new keeper reaching her heights (see previous post) she did that literally. Stanford fans will enjoy having her in the net for her four years there.
I don't think the team gets stoked about polls. They have a lot to prove, they're very inexperienced, the youngest edition in the last 8 years, and it showed in the 1st-half against Colorado, where they mostly struggled against themselves. Thank goodness Uhl and Verloo have been finding the back of the net lately given the lack of quality service from midfield. I have no doubt that having the sun in her eyes had much to contribute to Jane's "mistake". Buffs Battle No. 2 Stanford, Fall 2-0 In Pac-12 Opener Buffs fall to No. 2 Stanford in Pac-12 opener the latest RPI update from http://www.nc-soccer.com/wsoccer/2013/index_arpi really surprised that at the halfway point of the season, that the Card have one of the strongest unadjusted and adjusted RPI. There's still the rest of the Pac to play, and the Arizona schools aren't coming out this weekend just to frolic at the beach.
from gostanford.com: Campbell Wins Pac-12 Honor and a poignant story from the Stanford Daily about Emily Oliver's brave decision to medically retire from the sport she loved: Concussions cut short promising career for Oliver
from the Daily Wildcat: Arizona soccer takes Northern California trip from the State Press: ASU soccer faces daunting challenge, at No. 11 Cal, No. 2 Stanford from the Daily: http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/10/03/uhl-settling-into-life-on-the-farm-eyes-postseason/
Stanford is very vulnerable this year. Imagine how "average" they'd be if Taylor Uhl didn't transfer there. They'd still be a Top 16 team (Sweet 16), but not College Cup worthy. Even with Uhl, there's no guarantee they make the College Cup this year. They almost lost to Arizona at home, and now they are down 1-0 at home against Arizona State. This is Stanford's worst team since the 2007 team.
And Stanford goes down (at home). - Pac 12 conference million match winning streak (is now over) - Million match winning streak at home (is now over) This is Stanford's first loss in the Pac 12 since they lost to UCLA in 2008. They haven't lost at home since a couple of years before that.
ASU ends Stanfords home unbeaten streak at 73 and its conference winning streak at 44. Great job Sun Devils.
Your language strikes me as a bit harsh. I suggest that a more fair (gracious) way to describe the situation is to say that after a run that has featured: -four college cups, -a national championship and a couple finals -three Herman Award winners -a 44 game conference winning streak -a million match home winning streak -the unexpected loss of an All-American goalkeeper -the loss of a large senior class last year -a number two national ranking thus far this season, and -an RPI ranking that is near the top if not number one, Stanford is in the midst of a rebuilding year. Is it fair or realistic to expect anything else? Which Stanford athletic team has surpassed this record over the past couple years? Would it be fair to say that, although a young team this year may have surpassed expectations thus far, this history has been fun but will be difficult (f0r anyone) to replicate? My hat off to the coaching team that has produced this phenomonal record!
Reality finally caught up with us all. Truth be said, the undefeated status leading up to the weekend was like a coat of fresh paint on a defective house. A lot of wins in very exciting finishes, especially the undeserved victory in Santa Clara, but I now wish the team had lost some of those earlier games. This edition isn't technically or tactically ready to bear the load of an undefeated record. On both days it seemed as if dementors were circling the field and sucking the energy out of the Cardinal faithful. The Friday game was very unsettling. The Cardinal should have destroyed a very weak Wildcat side and Stanford almost paid dearly for its offensive ineptitude and inability to weave plays, and Griffen's horrific mistake late in the second half give life to an otherwise half-dead desert pussycat. Red lights to all, save Evans, Verloo and the ever-opportunistic Uhl, who merited yellow lights. On Sunday, a more apt Sun Devil squad would not not be as forgiving and forced Stanford early on to resort to this year's secret formula: kick it long and run after it. The team had gone to the well one too many times and destiny caught up. Red lights to all again. The mentality of some of the players (for example, Leidle) brings back bleak memories of my early years as a Stanford fan, when the twins and Beuhler would "playmake" by launching one 40-yard clearance after another to the front line. I thought those days were gone forever and I sincerely hope Coach Ratcliffe recommits to a unique, exciting, fun-to-watch and really successful brand of soccer. Doing so requires raising the team's average IQ and technical dexterity, and that can't be done overnight. But it's a shame to waste the talents of Ubogagu, Rosen, LaBonta and the likes in a system that deprecates their contributions, prevents the team from controlling the flow of the game and makes for very crappy soccer.