11-23-2014, 05:43 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-23-2014, 05:52 PM by Viking_Guy.)
Stanford rode another Lo LaBonta PK (or actually, her blasting in the rebound off her own blocked PK attempt) to a hard-fought 1-0 lead. And the Cardinal showed some real uncertainty at various points.
This is not to say the result wasn't deserved. Stanford owned the first half, with 3 great chances for Chi Ubogagu. But the only conversion was when Ryan Walker-Hartshorn, trying to receive a lofted ball back to goal just outside the penalty spot, was plowed over from behind by a Husky defender. The ref correctly pointed to the spot. LaBonta hit a "eh" shot, hard, but not very well placed, a good two yards inside the right post. The keeper guessed correctly, but could only block the ball down, right into the goal mouth, where Lo, to her credit, had followed her shot, and pounced to hammer the ball into the back of the net.
The Huskies had really only two good shots in the half, but both of them were as good as any of Stanford's. The first was a completely against the run of play launch from about 40 yards, trying to catch Jane Campbell off her line and nearly doing so, as Campbell tipped the bar into the crossbar where it rebounded out a good 20 yards. They also had another that tested Campbell, a left-footed shot from the right side of the top of the box to the far post, but Campbell saved it comfortably.
In the second half, UW came out much more offensively oriented, and pushed forward much harder. Stanford, used to having time and space at the back to play, took a good 5-8 minutes to adjust, and the Huskies had a couple of looks at goal. But when the Cardinal recovered their equilibrium, they got several good chances at an insurance goal. Chi had two good ones that she sent directly at the keeper; she seems to be going for power from her left foot, and on several occasions had a wide-open far post but tried to beat the keeper near with power. But the worst was Walker-Hartshorn; Chi got free down the left, and Ryan's defender fell down. As Chi drew the only defender, she slotted the ball across to Ryan directly in front of goal with the whole net from about 4 yards. The ball took a small hop, but Ryan HAS to convert that ball, instead of getting underneath it and sending it well high.
There were also several VERY close offsides decisions against Stanford, but they seemed to be fairly in control. The only real exceptions were mostly down the right hand side; Liedle was getting caught up field an awful lot, and forcing Romine to come over and cover. One of those chances ended up in a ball squared across the six-yard line that was cleared away by a sprawling Bauer.
The only other good chance for the Huskie was in the last 20 seconds. A player got too much room in midfield, and lofted a ball in between Romine and Bauer, trying to find the Huskies' best forward Softli. No Cardinal defender took it, and it remained for Campbell to come way out to the top of her box to catch it just before UW got onto the ball.
Not a great effort, to be honest. A lot of hopeful 30 yard shots, and as we move deeper into the tournament, teams are starting to poach against Stanford's back-pass-first defense and holding midfield style.
In any case, Stanford will rematch against the Florida Gators in the quarterfinal next Friday or Saturday at Stanford. Stanford, you might recall, beat the Gators 1-0 on a slightly soft LaBonta PK in overtime at Cagan back at the beginning of the season.
And while I may be a bit disappointed by the play today, right now UCLA has been unable to break down Pepperdine at home; 0-0 past the 80th minute in Westwood. Survive and advance. (EDIT: Sam Mewis scores in the 88th minute to give the Bruins a 1-0 win as well.)
VG
This is not to say the result wasn't deserved. Stanford owned the first half, with 3 great chances for Chi Ubogagu. But the only conversion was when Ryan Walker-Hartshorn, trying to receive a lofted ball back to goal just outside the penalty spot, was plowed over from behind by a Husky defender. The ref correctly pointed to the spot. LaBonta hit a "eh" shot, hard, but not very well placed, a good two yards inside the right post. The keeper guessed correctly, but could only block the ball down, right into the goal mouth, where Lo, to her credit, had followed her shot, and pounced to hammer the ball into the back of the net.
The Huskies had really only two good shots in the half, but both of them were as good as any of Stanford's. The first was a completely against the run of play launch from about 40 yards, trying to catch Jane Campbell off her line and nearly doing so, as Campbell tipped the bar into the crossbar where it rebounded out a good 20 yards. They also had another that tested Campbell, a left-footed shot from the right side of the top of the box to the far post, but Campbell saved it comfortably.
In the second half, UW came out much more offensively oriented, and pushed forward much harder. Stanford, used to having time and space at the back to play, took a good 5-8 minutes to adjust, and the Huskies had a couple of looks at goal. But when the Cardinal recovered their equilibrium, they got several good chances at an insurance goal. Chi had two good ones that she sent directly at the keeper; she seems to be going for power from her left foot, and on several occasions had a wide-open far post but tried to beat the keeper near with power. But the worst was Walker-Hartshorn; Chi got free down the left, and Ryan's defender fell down. As Chi drew the only defender, she slotted the ball across to Ryan directly in front of goal with the whole net from about 4 yards. The ball took a small hop, but Ryan HAS to convert that ball, instead of getting underneath it and sending it well high.
There were also several VERY close offsides decisions against Stanford, but they seemed to be fairly in control. The only real exceptions were mostly down the right hand side; Liedle was getting caught up field an awful lot, and forcing Romine to come over and cover. One of those chances ended up in a ball squared across the six-yard line that was cleared away by a sprawling Bauer.
The only other good chance for the Huskie was in the last 20 seconds. A player got too much room in midfield, and lofted a ball in between Romine and Bauer, trying to find the Huskies' best forward Softli. No Cardinal defender took it, and it remained for Campbell to come way out to the top of her box to catch it just before UW got onto the ball.
Not a great effort, to be honest. A lot of hopeful 30 yard shots, and as we move deeper into the tournament, teams are starting to poach against Stanford's back-pass-first defense and holding midfield style.
In any case, Stanford will rematch against the Florida Gators in the quarterfinal next Friday or Saturday at Stanford. Stanford, you might recall, beat the Gators 1-0 on a slightly soft LaBonta PK in overtime at Cagan back at the beginning of the season.
And while I may be a bit disappointed by the play today, right now UCLA has been unable to break down Pepperdine at home; 0-0 past the 80th minute in Westwood. Survive and advance. (EDIT: Sam Mewis scores in the 88th minute to give the Bruins a 1-0 win as well.)
VG