10-30-2017, 10:43 AM
Better highlight video:
https://youtu.be/0lmGWZk-E60
At least in the right order - Stanford scored first, on the header by Kiki Pickett. Then $C on the poor clearance/let down play for their goal.
The goal by Macario was just spectacular, but, as the highlight video makes clear, it was the run by Andi Sullivan that made it happen, and was IMO the single most important play of the game. Trailing 2-1, the Toejams followed my advice, and finally put on a high press starting at halftime, trapping Stanford in their own end just as UCLA did earlier in the week. The Cardinal was reduced to pounding the ball upfield on clearances under pressure, which often led to $C collecting and sending the ball right back in at the midline. Macario was trying to be a holdup player, but the Cardinal had pretty much collapsed in their own end, so she had no one to lay the ball off to.
$C had outshot Stanford 4-1 in the opening 15 minutes of the half, had generated a couple of corner kicks, and had a couple of clear players running through in the box not be able to connect on frame. So the Cardinal was definitely on the back foot, when Sullivan collected the ball just in her own half and started a long-strided dribble up the center channel, riding out one challenge, recovering, and almost getting to the area before laying the ball off to Macario just before getting clattered into by a defender. Macario's strike was amazing - over and around the wall into the near upper 90. But it was Sullivan's run that turned the game.
With a two-goal cushion, Stanford seemed to recover its balance, and the last 30 minutes was much more even - $C generated chances, but Stanford countered effectively. And for the last ten minutes, they held the defending national champions without a shot, let alone a shot on goal.
Onto C.al, and the inevitable "Let's send Santa Clara to Stanford in round 2 again" (why look, they're #32 in the RPI again - sigh) seeding by the NCAA.
VG
https://youtu.be/0lmGWZk-E60
At least in the right order - Stanford scored first, on the header by Kiki Pickett. Then $C on the poor clearance/let down play for their goal.
The goal by Macario was just spectacular, but, as the highlight video makes clear, it was the run by Andi Sullivan that made it happen, and was IMO the single most important play of the game. Trailing 2-1, the Toejams followed my advice, and finally put on a high press starting at halftime, trapping Stanford in their own end just as UCLA did earlier in the week. The Cardinal was reduced to pounding the ball upfield on clearances under pressure, which often led to $C collecting and sending the ball right back in at the midline. Macario was trying to be a holdup player, but the Cardinal had pretty much collapsed in their own end, so she had no one to lay the ball off to.
$C had outshot Stanford 4-1 in the opening 15 minutes of the half, had generated a couple of corner kicks, and had a couple of clear players running through in the box not be able to connect on frame. So the Cardinal was definitely on the back foot, when Sullivan collected the ball just in her own half and started a long-strided dribble up the center channel, riding out one challenge, recovering, and almost getting to the area before laying the ball off to Macario just before getting clattered into by a defender. Macario's strike was amazing - over and around the wall into the near upper 90. But it was Sullivan's run that turned the game.
With a two-goal cushion, Stanford seemed to recover its balance, and the last 30 minutes was much more even - $C generated chances, but Stanford countered effectively. And for the last ten minutes, they held the defending national champions without a shot, let alone a shot on goal.
Onto C.al, and the inevitable "Let's send Santa Clara to Stanford in round 2 again" (why look, they're #32 in the RPI again - sigh) seeding by the NCAA.
VG