Sept. 13, 2012

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The No. 3 Stanford women's soccer team plays a pair at the Santa Clara Classic this weekend. First is a matchup against No. 15 San Diego State, followed by a Sunday match against UNC Greensboro.

SANTA CLARA CLASSIC
The following is the complete tournament schedule at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara:

Friday
5 p.m.: No. 3 Stanford (4-1-1) vs. No. 15 San Diego State (7-0)
7:30 p.m.: UNC Greensboro (3-3) at Santa Clara (3-2-2)

The Last Meeting San Diego State 2 Stanford 5 August 30, 2009 Stanford, Calif. Cardinal Turns Two-Goal Deficit Into 5-2 Win The No. 4 Stanford women's soccer team hadn't trailed by two goals since 2007. But the Cardinal, ignited by Christen Press (above), exploded for five goals in 26 minutes of the second half to win its home opener over San Diego State, 5-2, on Sunday. Recap | Box Score

The Last Meeting Stanford 1 UNC Greensboro 0 September 4, 2009 Greensboro, N.C. Taylor's Second-Half Goal Wins It For Stanford Returning first-team All-America Lindsay Taylor (above) scored for the first time this season to give the No. 4 Stanford women's soccer team a 1-0 victory over UNC Greensboro on Friday night in the opening match of the Spartan Classic. Recap | Box Score

1 p.m.: San Diego State at Santa Clara

Tournament History: Stanford did not participate in the tournament last season, but won eight consecutive matches in the event from 2007-10. Overall, Stanford is 17-5-2 at the tournament, beginning in 1996. Stanford's last loss at the Santa Clara Classic was 2-1 in overtime to Wake Forest on Aug. 27, 2006.

STANFORD'S WEEKEND
The following is a closer look at Stanford's matches this weekend:

Who: No. 3 Stanford (4-1-1) vs. No. 15 San Diego State (7-0-0)
When: Friday, 5 p.m. PT
Where: Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
What: Chioma Ubogagu returns to the Stanford lineup from the victorious U.S. U-20 World Cup team
Follow: Links to live stats and video can be found at gostanford.com

Who: Stanford vs. UNC Greensboro (3-3)
When: Sunday, 11 a.m. PT
Where: Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
What: Stanford seeks to continue its perfect record in the series
Follow: Links to live stats and video can be found at gostanford.com

CURRENT STANFORD STREAKS
• Four consecutive College Cup appearances
• Three consecutive College Cup finals appearances
• Three consecutive Pac-12 conference titles
• 135-match unbeaten streak (129-0-6) when scoring a goal
(the last time Stanford scored and lost was Aug. 27, 2006; 2-1 to Wake Forest)
• 91-match home unbeaten streak (87-0-4) when scoring a goal
(Stanford hasn't scored at home and lost since Oct. 5, 2003; 2-1 to Loyola Marymount)
• 58-match home unbeaten streak (56-0-2)
(last loss, Nov. 23, 2007; 2-0 to Connecticut in an NCAA third-round match)

CHI'S RETURN: Chioma Ubogagu returned to Stanford this week after helping the United States capture the FIFA Under-20 World Cup title in Japan. Ubogagu missed Stanford's first six matches while in service with the national team, which beat Germany in the final, 1-0, on Sept. 8. Ubogagu trained several times with Stanford before reporting to the U.S. team, and returned to training with the Cardinal on Tuesday.

Ubogagu scored 10 goals and had 10 assists for Stanford's national championship team last season as a freshman and was named to the NCAA College Cup All-Tournament team. She enters this season as Stanford's leading returning scorer.

FORWARD FLUX: With Chioma Ubogagu expected to join the Stanford starting lineup soon, whether this weekend or in a match thereafter, the Cardinal forward line will remain in flux. With redshirt freshman Haley Rosen starting for the first time on Sunday against Georgetown, Ubogagu would become the sixth player to start on Stanford's three-player frontline this season.

ANOTHER UNBEATEN: Stanford's match against San Diego State (7-0) will mark the fifth match that the Cardinal has played against undefeated teams this season. Stanford is 3-0-1 in matchups against Santa Clara (0-0 going into the match), Penn State (2-0), Boston College (3-0), and Georgetown (6-0-1). Washington (7-0-1) and UCLA (5-0-1) are the only unbeaten teams left on Stanford's schedule.

LAST WEEK: Stanford swept two matches at its own Stanford Nike Invitational in vastly different ways. On Friday, central defender Alina Garciamendez ripped a 20-yard shot inside the right post in the 89th minute to give the Cardinal a 1-0 victory over Boston University and end a two-match winless streak. On Sunday, Mariah Nogueira headed in two goals to spark Stanford to a 6-0 rout of No. 23 Georgetown, a team that entered the match at 6-0-1 and having outscored its opponents, 17-3.

LEADING SCORERS: Natalie Griffen, a Bay Area product from Pleasanton, is leading the Cardinal in scoring with four goals and an assist, for nine points. She and Mariah Nogueira share the team goal-scoring lead with four. The total already is a career season high for Griffen, while Nogueira is one shy of her career high of five, achieved in 2009 and 2010.

RANKINGS: Stanford moved up from No. 5 to a tie with UCLA for No. 3 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire Coaches' Poll after its' victories over Boston University and Georgetown last weekend. In other rankings, Stanford is No. 3 by Soccer America, No. 3 by Top Drawer Soccer, No. 3 by Our Game Magazine, and No. 4 by Soccer Times.

FRIDAY'S OPPONENT, SAN DIEGO STATE: The Aztecs not only are 7-0, but they have shut out their past six opponents. San Diego State has allowed only one goal in 645:16 minutes and has a team goals-against average of 0.14. The Aztecs also entered the week as one of seven teams in the nation with perfect records. However, they still have much to prove. Only one of its victories has come over a team currently ranked in the NSCAA poll - No. 18 Pepperdine. SDSU returned 10 starters from a team that went 10-7-3 last season and finished second in the Mountain West Conference.

THE STANFORD-SAN DIEGO STATE SERIES: One of Stanford's unforgettable matches in recent years came at home against the Aztecs in 2009, because San Diego State bolted to a 2-0 second-half lead against a team that would reach the NCAA final. To this day, that remains the only two-goal deficit Stanford has faced since 2007. However, Stanford erupted with five goals in a 26-minute span of the second half to erase the deficit on the way to a 5-2 victory. All Stanford's goals were scored by Hermann Trophy winners: Christen Press and Teresa Noyola scored twice and Kelley O'Hara once. That was the most recent meeting between the programs. Stanford leads the all-time series 7-0-1.

SUNDAY'S OPPONENT, UNC GREENSBORO: The Spartans (3-3) have had some ups and downs thus far. The highlight was a 1-0 road victory over Wake Forest, a College Cup qualifier last season. However, UNCG went on to lose twice at Kentucky's tournament - to Kentucky and Louisville - by a combined score of 5-0. Scoring seems a concern, with nine total and no player with more than two. The Spartans were predicted to finish fourth in the Southern Conference by a vote of coaches.

THE STANFORD-UNC GREENSBORO SERIES: Stanford holds a 2-0 series lead, with a 2-0 home victory in 2008, and a 1-0 road victory in 2009. The latter was won on a 52nd minute tap-in by Lindsay Taylor after Mariah Nogueira's header was blocked.

THE SCHEDULE: Stanford opened with five matches against teams that reached the 2011 NCAA tournament and emerged with a 3-1-1 record - losing to West Virginia and tying Boston College. In all, Stanford plays nine teams that reached the postseason last year. San Diego State will be the fifth team ranked at the time of its meeting with Stanford. The Cardinal is 3-0-1 against ranked teams this season.

CLUTCH PLAYER: Mariah Nogueira has made a habit of scoring clutch goals for Stanford. She scored the go-ahead goal against Georgetown on Sunday, after earlier scoring a late winner against Penn State and the second-half tying goal in the season-opener against Santa Clara. Last year, she headed in the 88th minute winner to beat Notre Dame.

Of Nogueira's team-high 17 career goals, 13 have tied the score or put Stanford ahead. She also has 10 game-winning goals. And, technically, she's not an offensive player, but rather a holding midfielder. Most of her goals are headers off corner kicks, as has been the case on each of her four goals this season.

SCORING BY COMMITTEE: Because graduation, injury, and national-team duties, Stanford had to make do without its top six scorers from last year. The return of last year's third-leading scorer, Chioma Ubogagu, from the U-20 World Cup will help. Stanford is averaging 2.83 goals per match and has gotten goals from seven individuals, including three or more goals from four players - Natalie Griffen (4), Mariah Nogueira (4), Alina Garciamendez (3), and Sydney Payne (3).

FROM BEHIND: Stanford has trailed in three of its first four matches, equaling last year's total for the entire season. Stanford rallied to win all three in 2011 and two of the three this year. Also, Stanford's five goals allowed is more than half of last season's total of nine allowed. However, Stanford has won its past two matches by shutout.

RETURNING PLAYERS: Stanford returns seven starters and 21 letterwinners from last year's NCAA championship team. Among those are six all-conference players and three NSCAA All-Americans - goalkeeper Emily Oliver (2011 third team), midfielder Mariah Nogueira (2009 third team), and forward Courtney Verloo (2010 third team as a defender). Stanford returns 34 of last year's 73 goals (47 percent), its lowest percentage since 2004, with Chioma Ubogagu the team's top returning scorer (10 goals, 10 assists, 30 points).

FRESHMAN IMPACT: Of the five freshmen in this year's class, two have started most matches. Laura Liedle has started every match at left outside back, and Kate Bettinger started the first five matches in the midfield. Liedle has supplied two assists. Central defender Maya Theuer and midfielder Katie Donahue made their collegiate debuts in the season opener off the bench. Sarah Cox is a backup goalkeeper.

SENIOR CLASS: Stanford has three players - tri-captains central defender Alina Garciamendez, outside right back Rachel Quon, and holding midfielder Mariah Nogueira - who are four-year starters, with College Cup finals appearances in each of their previous three seasons. Stanford has 10 members of the class of 2013, including three who will still have eligibility after this year. Five members of the class started the opener: Garciamendez, Quon, Nogueira, goalkeeper Lindsay Dickerson, and forward Courtney Verloo.

HISTORIC PACE: Junior goalkeeper Emily Oliver, who did not play in the first six matches because of injury, has a career goals-against average of 0.27. She has allowed only 11 goals in 44 career matches. Her GAA, if maintained, would rank No. 1 in Stanford career history. U.S. national teamer Nicole Barnhart has the Stanford record of 0.45.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Paul Ratcliffe, in his 10th season at Stanford, is the reigning NSCAA National Coach of the Year, an honor he has received three times in four years. He also has been named Pac-12 Coach of the Year the past four seasons. Ratcliffe's Stanford record is 162-36-20. Over his career, now in his 14th year as a Division I head coach, Ratcliffe is 217-70-27.

HERMANN TROPHY WINNERS: Before last year, no other school has had three different players win the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy in three successive years. Stanford became the first in the 24 years of collegiate soccer's most prestigious honor when Kelley O'Hara (2009), Christen Press (2010) and Teresa Noyola captured the honor. In addition, Lindsay Taylor, the runner-up to Noyola, was named Soccer America's National Player of the Year. This year, goalkeeper Emily Oliver has been named to the Hermann Trophy watch list.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: Central defender Alina Garciamendez and goalkeeper Emily Oliver were named to Soccer America's Preseason All-America team.

POSSIBLE LINEUP
Goalkeeper: Aly Gleason
Defenders: Laura Liedle, Alina Garciamendez, Kendall Romine or Madeleine Thompson, Rachel Quon.
Midfielders: Mariah Nogueira, Lo'eau LaBonta, Alex Doll.
Forwards: Haley Rosen or Chioma Ubogagu, Courtney Verloo, Natalie Griffen.