Aug. 26, 2011
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - No. 2 Stanford was unable to convert several early chances and played No. 5 Maryland to a 0-0 draw in a double-overtime nonconference women's soccer match Friday night.
Stanford (2-0-1) forced three strong saves from Maryland goalkeeper Yewande Balogun in the first 10 minutes and held the Terrapins without a shot for the first 19. But Maryland (2-0-1) rallied with some strong chances of its own in the 110-minute stalemate before a crowd of 1,527 in what was billed as the biggest nonconference match in Ludwig Field history.
Two of the best scoring opportunities for both teams came within moments of each other with about 15 minutes left in the second half.
First, Stanford's Lindsay Taylor launched a long shot that bounced off the chest of Balogun and into the path of Chioma Ubogagu, but the freshman's rebound from point-blank range went wide right.
"I thought for sure it was going to be a goal," Ratcliffe said.
Maryland responded with a through ball to Hayley Brock in the penalty box. Brock had a step on the last defender, Alina Garciamendez, and was about to unleash a shot when Garciamendez slid from behind to push the ball out of her path and across the end line.
Because of injuries, including a leg injury suffered by defender Rachel Quon in pregame warmups, coach Paul Ratcliffe used three new starters and moved two others to different positions.
Defender Annie Case, midfielder Alex Doll and goalkeeper Emily Oliver started for the first time. Case started at her 2010 position of left outside back, while Camille Levin moved from the left to the right side.
Freshman midfielder Alex Doll, who like Case is from the Washington, D.C., metro area, made her first start, with Kristy Zurmuhlen moving into injured Mariah Nogueira's defensive midfield role.
And Emily Oliver, the 2010 starter, returned at goalkeeper after missing the first two matches with injury.
Stanford also is missing projected starting forward Courtney Verloo, who is out indefinitely with a preseason knee injury.
"The hard thing for me in making quite a few adjustments, is trying to get the chemistry going," Ratcliffe said. "It was a little disjointed from the way we usually play. But you have to expect that when with so many new faces in the lineup."
Stanford dominated possession in the first half, outshooting Maryland, 10-2, only for the Terrapins to take control with an 11-5 shot advantage in the second. Each team had four shots in the two 10-minute overtime periods, with Stanford having another chance on Marjani Hing-Glover's volley from 12 yards that went high.
"At the end of the day, it was a good performance," Ratcliffe said. "When you go on the road against a top five team, it's not easy. But we showed great character. This is the type of game that builds character."
Stanford will brace itself for the remains of Hurricane Irene on Sunday when the Cardinal plays at No. 20 Georgetown (3-0) in Washington, D.C. The match was pushed back three hours, to 1 p.m. PT, to try to avoid the worst of the weather.