STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford got a hat trick from Ryan Walker-Hartshorn to help the Cardinal blow open an 8-0 women’s soccer victory over Dayton on Sunday at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium while giving Paul Ratcliffe his 200th victory as Stanford’s coach.
No. 4 Stanford (6-0-1), the only team in the country to not allow a goal, earned its seventh consecutive shutout, tying a school record that has been achieved four times, most recently in 2011. The Cardinal extended its shutout streak to 672 minutes, 12 seconds, dating back to last season. Jane Campbell has been in the nets for 571:47 this season and Sarah Cox for 90:00.
The hat trick was the first for Walker-Hartshorn, a sophomore forward from Oakland who came off the bench. Her goals were consecutive, extending a 2-0 first-half lead to 5-0 in the 54th minute as Stanford went on to record its highest margin of victory since Sept. 23, 2010, when it beat Hawaii, 9-0.
The eight goals more than doubled Stanford’s season output of seven. Until Andi Sullivan scored at 16:09, Stanford had gone 290:19 without a goal in the run of play, spanning parts of four matches.
“We’ve been building,” Ratcliffe said of his team’s goal explosion. “We’ve been a little frustrated we haven’t been able to score in the past couple of games. We’ve been training and working hard on our finishing and execution. Today, everything clicked.”
It had been nearly a year since Stanford’s previous hat trick, recorded on three spot kicks by Courtney Verloo in a 3-2 overtime victory over Santa Clara. Walker-Hartshorn’s hat trick was the 30th in the history of the program, which began in 1984. She came into the match with one goal this season and two in her collegiate career.
“Ryan’s getting better each game,” Ratcliffe said. “She’s capable of scoring a bunch of goals for us and being a key player. I was really happy with her back-to-goal play and her finishing ability. Any chance she got, she put them in.”
Dayton (2-5-1), the preseason favorite of conference coaches to win the Atlantic 10 title, nearly matched Stanford in shots (15-12), but the Cardinal created deep holes in the Flyer defense and exploited them with high-percentage shots and breakaways.
Sullivan’s first collegiate goal, controlling a long ball from Maddie Bauer and shooting with her right foot past goalkeeper Elizabeth James, began a stretch of eight goals in just over 70 minutes.
Haley Rosen scored in the 20th minute after a feed from Chioma Ubogagu for a 2-0 lead, before Walker-Hartshorn put together her scoring flurry, including two on one-on-one duels with James. After central defender Kendall Romine scored on a penalty kick, Alex Doll finished off the Flyers with the final two scores.
Recording the first assists of their collegiate careers were freshmen Zoe Pacalin and Mariah Lee, and junior Katie Donahue, who set up Walker-Hartshorn’s third with a perfect through ball.
In his 12th season, Ratcliffe improved his Stanford record to 200-43-22. No other Stanford soccer coach in the history of its men’s and women’s programs has more than 133 victories on The Farm. Including five seasons at Saint Mary’s, Ratcliffe’s overall coaching record is 255-77-29.
“It means I’ve coached some amazing players,” Ratcliffe said of the milestone. “I’m very thankful for all their hard work, without them obviously I couldn’t achieve these things. I didn’t think I would win 8-0 in my 200th win, so that was very special.”
Stanford returns to action Friday night (7:30 p.m.) against No. 24 Santa Clara, in a renewal of their South Bay rivalry. It will be the nightcap to a doubleheader that begins with the Stanford men against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at 5 p.m., at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
Stanford’s matches next week against Santa Clara and Cal Poly, on Sunday, complete the Cardinal’s nonconference season. Pac-12 play begins Sept. 26 at Utah.
“I want the team to keep getting better, keep improving,” Ratcliffe said. “We’ve got to hit our stride before we hit conference.”
| Dayton | 0 | 0 | -- | 0 |
| Stanford | 3 | 5 | -- | 8 |
Scoring: Stanford -- Andi Sullivan (Maddie Bauer), 16:09; Haley Rosen (Chioma Ubogagu), 19:26; Ryan Walker-Hartshorn (Zoe Pacalin), 35:16; Ryan Walker-Hartshorn (Katie Donahue), 53:03; Kendall Romine (penalty kick), 65:22; Alex Doll (unassisted), 75:18; Alex Doll (Kendall Romine), 86:19.
Records: Stanford 6-0-1, Dayton 2-5-1.