Sept. 19, 2012

STANFORD, Calif. - The No. 3 Stanford women's soccer team puts its 31-match conference winning streak on the line when it plays host to Arizona State in a Pac-12 opener on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.

The following is a closer look at Sunday's match:

Who: Arizona State (4-4-1) at No. 3 Stanford (6-1-1)
When: Sunday, 2 p.m. PT
Where: Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, Stanford, Calif.
What: A Pac-12 Conference opener
Watch: Pac-12 Networks (Roxy Bernstein and Krista Blunk on the call)
Listen: KZSU-2 online
Follow: Gametracker live stats (gostanford.com)
Tickets: 1-800-STANFORD; gostanford.com; Stanford Stadium ticket office (Gate 2 for advance tickets; at Cagan Stadium on game day)

CURRENT STANFORD STREAKS
• Four consecutive College Cup appearances
• Three consecutive College Cup finals appearances
• Three consecutive Pac-10/12 Conference titles
• 137-match unbeaten streak (131-0-6) when scoring a goal
(the last time Stanford scored and lost was Aug. 27, 2006; 2-1 to Wake Forest)
• 93-match home unbeaten streak (89-0-4) 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)
• 31-match Pac-10/12 winning streak
(last loss, Oct. 31, 2008; 1-0 at UCLA)
• 21-match Pac-10/12 home winning streak
(last loss, Oct. 19, 2007; 2-0 vs. UCLA)
• 11-match Pac-10/12 season-opening unbeaten streak (9-0-2)
(last loss, Oct. 6, 2000; 1-0 at Washington)
• 7-match Pac-10/12 home-opening winning streak
(last loss, Oct. 15, 2004; 1-0 vs. Arizona, 2OT)

JUVENILE DIABETES AWARENESS DAY: Sunday's match is designated as Juvenile Diabetes Awareness Day, largely because of the influence of Stanford junior forward Shelby Payne, who is a Type 1 diabetic. Payne, who will not play Sunday because of injury, has been active mentoring children who also have diabetes and in encouraging them to continue to participate in sports. A number will be in attendance at the match.

Payne was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on Christmas Day in 2004 and has been determined ever since to never let diabetes stop her from reaching her goals. Shelby also hopes to inspire young diabetics to dream big and show the world that diabetes cannot stop them from doing anything. She plans on attending medical school following her career so that she can someday help children with their health.

Payne will join two other Type 1 diabetics -- Stanford student-athletes Spencer Linney (baseball) and women's basketball player Alex Greene - in the stands after the match for a Q&A with young diabetics and their parents.

PAC-12 SUCCESS: Stanford begins defense of its three consecutive Pac-10/12 Conference titles, all won with perfect records. Stanford went 11-0 in 2011, and 9-0 each in 2010 and 2009. Stanford, which has a 31-match conference winning streak, hasn't dropped a point in conference play since 2008 (Oct. 31, 1-0 loss at UCLA) and hasn't done the same at home in the conference since 2007 (Oct. 19, 2-0 vs. UCLA). In 2011, Stanford won three matches by one goal in conference play - 1-0 at Washington State, 1-0 at Washington in overtime, and 2-1 at Oregon State. The other eight were by a combined 29-3. The last time Stanford won in conference by a one-goal margin at home was Oct. 17, 2010, in a 2-1 victory over Washington.

SHUTOUT STREAK: Stanford has shut out its past four opponents and has not allowed a goal since the 57th minute of a 1-1 draw against Boston College on Aug. 31. Since that goal, Stanford has assembled a scoreless streak of 413 minutes, 19 seconds. Stanford's defense allowed five goals in the first four matches, but none since. Also consider that since Paul Ratcliffe and goalkeepers coach Jay Cooney's arrival in 2003, the program's collective goals-against average is 0.55 (going into this season), and the Cardinal has been below 1.00 each year. The school record for most consecutive shutouts is seven (accomplished four times) and the mark for most consecutive scoreless minutes allowed is 774:22 (2002-03).

FROM BEHIND: An addendum to the previous note, Stanford had trailed in its first three matches - against Santa Clara, Penn State, and West Virginia. That equaled last year's total for the entire season. Since then, Stanford hasn't trailed at all, over a span of five matches.

NO SHOTS ALLOWED: On Sunday, Stanford held an opponent without a shot for the first time in school history in beating UNC Greensboro, 4-0, at the Santa Clara Classic. Stanford got goals from four different players and earned its fourth consecutive shutout while outshooting the Spartans, 25-0. In a program history that began in 1984, Stanford had held an opponent to one shot eight times, but never to none. UNCG (3-5) also failed to secure a corner kick, meaning Stanford goalkeepers Aly Gleason and Lindsay Dickerson had an uneventful day.

TOURNAMENT TITLE: In addition to its victory over UNC Greensboro, Stanford beat previously unbeaten San Diego State, the No. 15 ranked team, on a free-kick goal by Courtney Verloo in the 30th minute. Both matches came in the Santa Clara Classic, which the Cardinal won. Stanford extended its winning streak in the tournament to 10 matches. Verloo scored in each match - her first goals of the season - and was named tournament MVP. Defenders Alina Garciamendez and Rachel Quon, as well as goalkeeper Aly Gleason, were named to the all-tournament team.

GLEASON WINS WEEKLY HONOR: Stanford goalkeeper Aly Gleason was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for her play at the Santa Clara Classic. Gleason, a redshirt junior from Atwater, Calif., played a part in two shutouts, a 1-0 victory over No. 15 and previously unbeaten San Diego State, and a 4-0 victory over UNC Greensboro. She saved the San Diego State match on Friday by diving to her left to make a spectacular save of a hard shot from the penalty area in the second half. It was one of several fine saves for Gleason, who is getting her first extended playing time of her collegiate career. She made five saves altogether, including another difficult diving stop against SDSU.

CHI IS BACK: Stanford sophomore forward Chioma Ubogagu played her first matches of the season for Stanford last weekend 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. She still is looking for her first goal, though she had two assists against UNC Greensboro.

LEADING SCORER: Stanford lost 20-goal scorer Lindsay Taylor, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, to graduation, but has filled her scoring duties by committee. Three Stanford players are tied for the team scoring lead with four apiece: first-year starter Natalie Griffen, who scored two goals in her first two seasons, and Sydney Payne and Mariah Nogueira. Courtney Verloo (2 goals, 6 assists) joins Griffen and Payne atop the team scoring list, with 10 points (two for a goal, 1 for an assist).

With Haley Rosen scoring her first collegiate goal on Sunday against UNC Greensboro, nine players have now scored for the Cardinal. That total is sure to increase once Ubogagu gets on the board.

OLIVER COULD RETURN: Junior goalkeeper Emily Oliver, who did not play in the first eight matches because of injury, appears close to returning. She 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.

RANKINGS: Stanford sits alone at No. 3 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire Coaches' Poll after sharing that spot last week. In other rankings, Stanford is No. 3 by Soccer America, No. 2 by Top Drawer Soccer, No. 3 by Soccer Times, and No. 3 by Our Game.

SUNDAY'S OPPONENT, ARIZONA STATE: The Sun Devils have won three consecutive matches after winning only one of their first six. The streak started with a 1-0 upset over then-No. 10 Pepperdine. The return of junior forward Devin Marshall after a two-match absence because of injury, gave the Sun Devils a boost and it was her 64th-minute goal that won the match. Marshall leads the team with six goals, which is tied for third in the Pac-12. ASU went 8-11 overall last season and was eighth in the Pac-12 at 4-7.

THE STANFORD-ARIZONA STATE SERIES: Stanford leads the all-time series 9-3-3. Last Stanford has won the past four - including 3-1 on the road last season. Stanford is 6-1 at home against the Sun Devils.

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 was the fifth team ranked at the time of its meeting with Stanford. The Cardinal is 4-0-1 against ranked teams this season.

CLUTCH PLAYER: Mariah 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: Through graduation or injury, Stanford has had to make do without its top six scorers from last year. The Cardinal is averaging 2.37 goals per match. Stanford has gotten goals from six different scorers, including a team-high three from Natalie Griffen.

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, four have played and two have been regular starters. Laura Liedle has started every match at left outside back. Kate Bettinger has started four times as an attacking midfielder. Central defender Maya Theuer and midfielder Katie Donahue made their collegiate debuts in the season opener. 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.

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 164-36-20. Over his career, now in his 14th year as a Division I head coach, Ratcliffe is 219-70-27.

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, Rachel Quon
Midfielders: Mariah Nogueira, Lo'eau LaBonta, Alex Doll
Forwards: Chioma Ubogagu, Haley Rosen, Courtney Verloo.