June 19, 2012

Stanford Athletics on Facebook

STANFORD, Calif. - Voting for the Stanford Fan Choice Awards continues today on the Stanford Athletics on Facebook page, as the Game of the Year nominees are released.

The Game of the Year nominees, in chronological order of occurrence, are:

Oct. 30, 2011 - Football Comes Back, Outlasts USC 56-48 In Triple Overtime
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum witnessed one of the wildest games of the Stanford-USC series this night before Halloween. Fans witnessed two prolific offenes combine for 948 combined yards of offense, 13 touchdowns and 104 points in Stanford's 56-48 triple-overtime victory.

What was just a 10-6 game at halftime exploded in the second half, as each team scored 14 points in the third quarter. In the fourth, tied at 27, USC's Nickell Robey picked off an Andrew Luck pass and took it down the sidelines and in to give the Trojans a 34-27 lead with 3:08 to play.

Luck bounced back, though, immediately engineering a 76-yard drive capped by Stepfan Taylor's tying touchdown with 38 seconds left. For the game Luck would go 29-for-40 for 330 yards and three touchdowns passing, and ran for 56 yards and another score. Running back Stepfan Taylor rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Both teams scored in the first two overtimes, and, with the ball first in the third overtime, Taylor rushed for the go-ahead score and Luck capped it with a two-point conversion pass to Coby Fleener, accounting for the final points of Stanford's thrilling 56-48 win.

December 4, 2011 - Noyola's Goal Clinches Women's Soccer's First National Title
After coming up short its previous two trips to the College Cup, Stanford Women's Soccer finally claimed that elusive first title with a 1-0 victory over Duke in the NCAA Championship Game.

Teresa Noyola's header in the 53rd minute was enough to give Stanford the victory and stamp the Cardinal as one of the greatest teams of all-time. The win culminated a four-year period in which Stanford (25-0-1 in 2011) went 95-4-4 overall and 53-0-1 at home.

Camille Levin played a major part in the sequence which led up to the title-winning goal. Levin was tackled and stumbled, but regained her balance and kept possession as she attempted another cross, this one blocked by a defender, knocking both players down. But Levin got up first and continued her run.

With two defenders bearing down on her, she struck a second cross, this time finding Noyola, the tournament's Most Valuable Offensive Player, wide open at the far post for her ninth goal of the season.

Goalie Emily Oliver made two saves for her 12th clean sheet of the season, and the Cardinal were finally national champions.

Dec. 20, 2011 - Ogwumike's 42 Points, 17 Rebounds Lead Stanford To 97-80 Rout Of No. 6 Tennessee
A sold-out Maples Pavilion crowd witnessed one of the best performances in the career of one of the best players to ever wear a Stanford uniform, as Nnemkadi Ogwumike decimated the Tennessee defense for a career-high 42 points with 17 rebounds in Stanford's 97-80 win.

The highly-charged atmosphere featured legendary Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt making what would end up being her final trip to Maples Pavilion at the helm of the Lady Volunteer program, and Summitt was honored prior to the game with taped messages and a warm standing ovation.

But once the action got underway, Ogwumike and sophomore guard Toni Kokenis made it their show. The pair combined for 68 points as the fourth-ranked Cardinal shook off a slow start and went on a 29-13 run that turned a 16-7 deficit into a 36-29 lead with five minutes to go in the first half. Kokenis capped the first half with one of her five 3-pointers, giving Stanford a 48-41 lead.

The second half featured Ogwumike putting on a clinic around the paint. The three-time All-American hit jumpers from all over the offensive end, then, when the defense came out to take it away, she dazzled with drives and post moves to the basket for points. By the end of the night, Ogwumike was 19-of-27 from the field, Kokenis had scored a career-high 26 points and Stanford had its 68th straight home win under its belt.

January 7, 2012 - Men's Basketball Plays Longest Game In Program History, Beats Oregon State 103-101 In Four Overtimes
Three hours and eight minutes after the opening tip, the Stanford and Oregon State teams finally walked off the court for good with the Cardinal earning the 103-101 victory in four overtimes, a total of 60 minutes of game time.

It was Chasson Randle's layup with 37 seconds remaining in the fourth overtime that provided the eventual game-winning points, although the Cardinal could not relax until Roberto Nelson's off-balance 3-point attempt missed as time expired.

The game had many false endings along the way. Josh Owens tipped in what appeared to be the winning points at the end of regulation, but the referees ruled that time had expired before the tip. Randle had his jumper blocked as the second overtime expired, and Oregon State missed a pair of shots that could've won the game after Stanford's Anthony Brown hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the third overtime.

In the end, the Cardinal would take a five-point lead in the fourth overtime, claiming the win in a game that featured a combined 171 field goal attempts, 48 three-point tries, 54 fouls, 41 assists, 14 ties, 13 lead changes and 108 rebounds.

Randle led the Cardinal with 24 points off the bench, while Aaron Bright scored 18 points and double-doubles were posted by Josh Owens (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Dwight Powell (10 points, 11 rebounds).

May 13, 2012 - Women's Water Polo Claims Second Straight NCAA Title With 6-4 Win Over USC
Standing in the way of the Stanford women's water polo team and its second straight NCAA title were the USC Trojans. Two years prior, the Trojans had defeated the Cardinal, 10-9, in the very same pool at San Diego State's Aztec Aquaplex for the 2010 title. In a tight, hard-fought contest, both teams slugged it out, with neither team leading by more than a goal until Pallavi Menon, with just over a minute left to play and Stanford clinging to a 5-4 lead, bounced a shot into the cage off the far post to make it 6-4 and clinch the title. Goalie Kate Baldoni would go on to earn Tournament MVP honors after making 15 saves against the Trojans, as Stanford claimed its third NCAA title in program history.