Sept. 30, 2004
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - In a battle of two of the top-10 teams in the country, the seventh-ranked Santa Clara University women's soccer team and Bay Area rival Stanford fought to a scoreless double-overtime draw tonight at Buck Shaw Stadium. The shut out marked the Broncos' sixth in a row, as the team is now 6-2-2 on the year. The Cardinal's record moves to 7-2-1 on the season.
The Broncos played in the attacking half of the field for most of the first half and held Stanford without an attempt in the frame. The pace picked up after intermission, when Stanford out-shot the Broncos by a 6-2 margin. The Cardinal's first attempt came early in the period, when Marcie Ward lofted a shot directly in front of the goal, about 15 yards out. Bronco keeper Julie Ryder mistimed her jump and watched as the ball went just high over the crossbar. Stanford's Leah Tapscott stole the ball in midfield six minutes later and was streaking across the field. She reached the box before the SCU defense could break up the play.
Ryder picked up her first save later in the half when Lizzy George fired a 20-yard shot. Ryder punched that ball over the bar.
Bronco sophomore Tina Estrada led the squad with three shots, including an attempt in the 51st minute that rolled just wide of the left post.
Santa Clara also had some strong attempts in the first overtime. Senior forward Megan Kakadelas sent a cross from the left that junior defender Micaela Esquivel was running onto. Esquivel slid in the mud right in front of the goal as she shot, forcing her attempt high. Reserve Jordan Angeli took the Broncos' shot on goal in the second extra frame, and the attempt was saved by Stanford's goalkeeper, Nicole Barnhart.
The Bronco shutout marked Ryder's fourth of the season and 13th of her career.
Santa Clara will play a second consecutive Pac-10 opponent when it heads to Southern California to take on seventh-ranked UCLA on Sunday afternoon. The Bruins are 6-2-0 on the season and will face Utah on Friday night prior to meeting the Broncos. The all-time series favors SCU 4-0-1, with the teams going into overtime the last two occasions, including a 1-1 draw in last year's season opener.
