Stanford vs FSU

Anyone have an opinion on this game? It should be a good one.

Go Cardinal! I just want the AAC to not totally monopolize. I wish these two were meeting in the final instead.

Stanford had a better record against common opponents—Portland, Maryland, and Oregon State—and a higher RPI.

If I read the ESPN site correctly, we can watch it online, ESPN3.

This is the first semifinals (not counting the very first one) to include no previous champion schools. For that matter, the quarterfinals featured no previous champions.

The first game will be on ESPNU (Comcast 727) at 2:00 pm.

While I agree with the ACC monopoly sentiment, as far as teams go, I haven't seen anyone (except maybe a couple of UP champs) that looked any stronger than Stanford. Their match with Portland earlier this year was an eye-opener regarding good teams and great teams.

Stanford 3-0 Florida State

I only saw the second half but it was 2-0 at halftime and Stanford stayed in control. Garciamendez had a beautiful header for the third. FSU had a few chances but the Stanford keeper was very good.

The Duke/Wake Forest winner is going to have a huge challenge on their hands in the Final.

Looks like it is going to be Duke. I think this is the year Stanford breaks it's finals jinx.

FSU controlled the game early and had two good chances to score, which they missed. Then Stanford scored against the flow of play, and it seemed to take the heart out of FSU.

Stanford 1 Duke 0

KENNESAW, Ga. -- Teresa Noyola scored from point-blank range Sunday to help top-ranked Stanford beat No. 3 Duke 1-0 and finally give the Cardinal their first NCAA women's soccer title.

Stanford seniors Noyola, Camille Levin, Kristy Zuhmehlen and Lindsay Taylor finished their college careers with a record of 95-4-4. Their last three losses came in a 2008 national semifinal to Notre Dame, to North Carolina in the '09 championship match and to Notre Dame in last year's final.

Noyola scored in the 53rd minute after Levin won a ball at the goal line about eight yards right of the goal. She crossed to the far post, where Noyola headed it from one yard.

Duke (22-4-1) had several scoring opportunities after that, but couldn't beat Stanford keeper Emily Oliver.


Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

Levin deserves all the credit for the goal. It was her persistence on the play that made it happen.

Congrats to Stanford, their team has been something to watch the past few years.

Went to the Stanford site to find out the result. No story. Looked on the schedule, no result. Had to find the result on PN. I guess they don't get much respect on their website.

gnarly wrote:Went to the Stanford site to find out the result. No story. Looked on the schedule, no result. Had to find the result on PN. I guess they don't get much respect on their website.

When I went to the site yesterday evening, the initial click-through-this-to-get-to-the-real-site page was one that congratulated the women's soccer team for the championship--replacing the Andrew-Luck-for-Heisman page that had been up for several weeks. A posting on the Stanford fan-board claimed that this had been done within a couple hours after the end of the game.

I want to echo my congratulations to the Stanford program. As a Pilot fan in the 90's, I remember what it was like to come up empty at the college cup three years in a row. A great (and well deserved) win for their program.

I was especially impressed with Cami Levin during the College Cup. Solid defending throughout both games against the likes of FSU's McCarty, and some nice offensive runs. Her assist on Sunday was a result of hustle and gritty determination.

Emily Oliver played very well in goal.

The lack of attention on the Stanford site doesn't surprise me. My brother is a Plunket-era grad and season ticket-holder for football and men's basketball. He seems to be typical of their fans in that he is only interested in the other sports when they add to the Stanford trophy collection while he makes no effort to support them with his presence or TV viewing. Pretty sad really.

I echo eProf's comment about Cami Levin. She reminded me lot of Taylor Brooke. Ability to push it forward. Her effort on the cross they scored on was impressive. I think they may even be the same height.

The only thing that surprised me was having watched Stanford play UP and OSU in person, they didn't look as physically imposing on TV.

Lastly, it will be interesting to see how next year turns our for the ACC. None of the Duke starters were seniors and I thought I heard the majority of Wake Forest's team will also be back.

keeper wrote:I echo eProf's comment about Cami Levin. She reminded me lot of Taylor Brooke. Ability to push it forward. Her effort on the cross they scored on was impressive. I think they may even be the same height.

Good call. The respective athletic websites list Cami and Taylor as each being 5'-3".