Women’s Soccer: Threes in the Last Three
After two losses on the North Carolina road trip, the Stanford women have won four in a row at home. The last three wins were impressive: Stanford scored three goals in each of them, and allowed only one goal to Santa Clara.
One might think that, with the same offensive production, the three games were similar.
Not so.
The first of the three was against LMU, a winless team. It showed. Stanford not only blanked them on the scoreboard, but also on shots (0) and corner opportunities (0). The game was played primarily on LMU’s half of the field, where the Lions stacked the box in what seemed a bunker defense. That had an effect on Stanford’s offense (26 shots, but only 11 on goal). With only 3 goals, that’s not an efficient offense. Credit part of that to the bunker defense. Coach Ratcliff presumably used this performance to stress the need, on offense, for patience, persistence, and focus.
Stanford had to be focused for its next game – against last season’s national champion Santa Clara. The Broncos scored a goal just more than two minutes into the contest. A corner kick bounced to the feet of a Santa Clara player standing in front of the goal; it was an easy put away. From then on, it was a battle of mid-field play, with relatively few scoring opportunities for either team. At half time, it was 1-1, and the score stood there until the 75th minute.
Stanford retained confidence, making the most of opportunities. The team had just ten shots, but with seven of them on goal and three of them past the keeper. Stanford had a slight edge in possession, and had seven corner opportunities to Santa Clara’s four.
Stanford’s third goal came in the 85th minute of the Santa Clara game. It was a goal for the highlight reels. Running toward goal on the left side, but still a yard from the box, Maya Doms launched an angled rocket into the upper right hand corner of the goal. Faced with this laser shot, the keeper stood motionless – and helpless.
To put this goal in perspective, imagine a free kick from the same spot. A free kick would be a great opportunity, but still well less than 50% of those shots are going to score. In the flow of play, without the careful set up, Doms executed a Caterina-Macario worthy goal to remember.
The last game was the conference opener against a Utah team now coached by former Stanford associate coach Hideki Nakada. The Utes are not a ranked team, but had won their previous two matches. They challenged for midfield control, but largely lost that battle. Stanford had 22 shots, with 15 on goal, and three past the keeper. Williams, Harbor and Doms got the goals. The Utes managed only 2 shots on goal.
Overall, the pattern of the three games showed greater offensive efficiency, with a 70% on goal percentage against Santa Clara and a 68% on goal percentage against Utah.
Freshman Andrea KItahata continues to impress. She leads the team in assists, has lots of shots with a high on goal percentage, and is second in points (11) to Doms 14. Kitahata will be a defensive handful for any future opponent. Meanwhile, team leader Doms scored 2 goals during the three games.
Stanford’s depth was also on display during the three game series. The team doesn’t have lots of depth, but the players who come in make a difference. They score goals and make assists, amplifying an opponent’s defensive challenge. During the three game series, four of Stanford’s nine goals came from substitutes (that’s 44%). Amy Sayer had two; and Katie Duong and Jojo Harber one each. In the hard fought Santa Clara game, the subs had two of Stanford’s three goals.
It’s impressive that Stanford brings a member of the Australian national team (fourth in the Olympics) off the bench. It is also impressive that the team brings another player off the bench (Duong) who, before transferring, was all conference at Minnesota.
That brings us to injuries. Amy Gruebel, who started the first 5 games and was tied with Doms for the most goals, has not seen any playing time in the last three games. I presume this is due to injury. If and when she can come back, there will be more firepower and more depth on offense.
Then there is Madison Haley. This All American player is said to be close to a return. Haley is a force who will occupy the defense, giving other players more scoring opportunities.
I’m looking forward to rest of the season.
After two losses on the North Carolina road trip, the Stanford women have won four in a row at home. The last three wins were impressive: Stanford scored three goals in each of them, and allowed only one goal to Santa Clara.
One might think that, with the same offensive production, the three games were similar.
Not so.
The first of the three was against LMU, a winless team. It showed. Stanford not only blanked them on the scoreboard, but also on shots (0) and corner opportunities (0). The game was played primarily on LMU’s half of the field, where the Lions stacked the box in what seemed a bunker defense. That had an effect on Stanford’s offense (26 shots, but only 11 on goal). With only 3 goals, that’s not an efficient offense. Credit part of that to the bunker defense. Coach Ratcliff presumably used this performance to stress the need, on offense, for patience, persistence, and focus.
Stanford had to be focused for its next game – against last season’s national champion Santa Clara. The Broncos scored a goal just more than two minutes into the contest. A corner kick bounced to the feet of a Santa Clara player standing in front of the goal; it was an easy put away. From then on, it was a battle of mid-field play, with relatively few scoring opportunities for either team. At half time, it was 1-1, and the score stood there until the 75th minute.
Stanford retained confidence, making the most of opportunities. The team had just ten shots, but with seven of them on goal and three of them past the keeper. Stanford had a slight edge in possession, and had seven corner opportunities to Santa Clara’s four.
Stanford’s third goal came in the 85th minute of the Santa Clara game. It was a goal for the highlight reels. Running toward goal on the left side, but still a yard from the box, Maya Doms launched an angled rocket into the upper right hand corner of the goal. Faced with this laser shot, the keeper stood motionless – and helpless.
To put this goal in perspective, imagine a free kick from the same spot. A free kick would be a great opportunity, but still well less than 50% of those shots are going to score. In the flow of play, without the careful set up, Doms executed a Caterina-Macario worthy goal to remember.
The last game was the conference opener against a Utah team now coached by former Stanford associate coach Hideki Nakada. The Utes are not a ranked team, but had won their previous two matches. They challenged for midfield control, but largely lost that battle. Stanford had 22 shots, with 15 on goal, and three past the keeper. Williams, Harbor and Doms got the goals. The Utes managed only 2 shots on goal.
Overall, the pattern of the three games showed greater offensive efficiency, with a 70% on goal percentage against Santa Clara and a 68% on goal percentage against Utah.
Freshman Andrea KItahata continues to impress. She leads the team in assists, has lots of shots with a high on goal percentage, and is second in points (11) to Doms 14. Kitahata will be a defensive handful for any future opponent. Meanwhile, team leader Doms scored 2 goals during the three games.
Stanford’s depth was also on display during the three game series. The team doesn’t have lots of depth, but the players who come in make a difference. They score goals and make assists, amplifying an opponent’s defensive challenge. During the three game series, four of Stanford’s nine goals came from substitutes (that’s 44%). Amy Sayer had two; and Katie Duong and Jojo Harber one each. In the hard fought Santa Clara game, the subs had two of Stanford’s three goals.
It’s impressive that Stanford brings a member of the Australian national team (fourth in the Olympics) off the bench. It is also impressive that the team brings another player off the bench (Duong) who, before transferring, was all conference at Minnesota.
That brings us to injuries. Amy Gruebel, who started the first 5 games and was tied with Doms for the most goals, has not seen any playing time in the last three games. I presume this is due to injury. If and when she can come back, there will be more firepower and more depth on offense.
Then there is Madison Haley. This All American player is said to be close to a return. Haley is a force who will occupy the defense, giving other players more scoring opportunities.
I’m looking forward to rest of the season.