College Soccer News: NCAA Crowns Women’s Champions

In an exciting game, the women’s NCAA Division-I soccer champions were crowned on Sunday, December 4. Stanford captured the title with a 1-0 win over Duke, to notch their first ever women’s soccer championship, following two consecutive losses in the big game. The win also capped off an undefeated season that saw the Cardinal go 25-0-1.

If there has been anything close to a women’s soccer juggernaut over the past four years, it has been Stanford. The Cardinal had not lost a regular season game over the past three years and had reached the finals the in 2009 and 2010. However, it seemed that the team was snakebit when it came to the big game, losing 1-0 first to North Carolina and then to Notre Dame. This time there would be no going home disappointed.

Stanford came into the game off a 3-0 win over Florida State, marking the most goals the team had scored in a College Cup match. Likewise, Duke had recorded a convincing 4-1 victory over Wake Forest. Both teams also brought to the match a history of solid defense, so a low-scoring game between the two was an almost certainty.

For Duke, their semifinal game marked the twelfth time this season they had won going into halftime with a lead, against no losses. With 42 minutes gone, Kim DeCesare fired in a Nicole Lipp corner kick for the Blue Devils’ fourth such goal of the season. Duke went on to score three more times in the second half, giving up one to Wake Forest, for the final tally.

Stanford also took an early lead, 2-0 at the half, on to their final victory. The final results came as no surprise, considering the Cardinal at that time had a 121-0-5 record when scoring, dating back to 2006. They also had a string of 145 matches where they had not given up an early lead.

In the championship match, the two teams played through a scoreless first half, neither able to crack the opposing defense. Finally eight minutes into the second half Stanford seniors Camille Levin and Teresa Noyola combined for the one goal that would matter. After a recovering a blocked pass attempt on the right side of the box, Levin fired a cross to Noyola at the far post who headed the ball into the net. Stanford’s defense then held steady to the final whistle for the win that exorcised the ghost of championships past. After 101 national championships in virtually every other sport, the Cardinal finally had one for women’s soccer.

Following the game, Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe spoke to reporters about the win. “This win caps off four tremendous years at Stanford,” he said. “They showed such great character to have all those setbacks and then come back and fight through and finally achieve our ultimate goal of winning a national championship.”

Noyola spoke later about the determination of her teammates, particularly the seniors who had gone through the previous two hard losses. “To get over those two heartbreaks and keep our nose to the grindstone and be able to come back,” she said, “that is something special.”

Final Statistics

Shots on Goal: Stanford 5, Duke 2

Shots: Stanford 12, Duke 15

Saves: Stanford 2, Duke 4

Corners: Stanford 9, Duke 5

Fouls: Stanford 9, Duke 10

Offsides: Stanford 2, Duke 2

Goals: Stanford 1 (Noyola, assist Levin; 53^rd minute)

NCAA Women’s Soccer Championships

YEAR	TEAM (RECORD)	SCORE	RUNNER-UP
2011	Stanford (25-0-1)	1-0	Duke
2010	Notre Dame (21-2-2)	1-0	Stanford
2009	North Carolina (23-3-1)	1-0	Stanford
2008	North Carolina (25-1-2)	2-1	Notre Dame
2007	Southern California (20-3-2)	2-0	Florida State
2006	North Carolina (27-1)	2-1	Notre Dame
2005	Portland (23-0-2)	4-0	UCLA
2004	*Notre Dame (25-1-1)	1-1 (2 ot, pk)	UCLA
2003	North Carolina (27-0)	6-0	Connecticut
2002	Portland (20-4-2)	2-1 (2 ot)	Santa Clara
2001	Santa Clara (23-2)	1-0	North Carolina
2000	North Carolina (21-3)	2-1	UCLA
1999	North Carolina (24-2)	2-0	Notre Dame
1998	Florida (26-1)	1-0	North Carolina
1997	North Carolina (27-0-1)	2-0	Connecticut
1996	North Carolina (25-1)	1-0 (2 ot)	Notre Dame
1995	Notre Dame (21-2-2)	1-0 (3 ot)	Portland
1994	North Carolina (25-1-1)	5-0	Notre Dame
1993	North Carolina (23-0)	6-0	George Mason
1992	North Carolina (25-0)	9-1	Duke
1991	North Carolina (25-0)	3-1	Wisconsin
1990	North Carolina (24-0)	6-0	Connecticut
1989	North Carolina (24-0-1)	2-0	Colorado College
1988	North Carolina (18-0-3)	4-1	North Carolina State
1987	North Carolina (23-0-1	1-0	Massachusetts
1986	North Carolina (24-0-1)	2-0	Colorado College
1985	George Mason (18-2-1)	2-0	North Carolina
1984	North Carolina (24-0-1)	2-0	Connecticut
1983	North Carolina (19-1)	4-0	George Mason
1982	North Carolina (19-2)	2-0	UCF

*Declared champion on the basis of penalty kicks.

For more details and video, visit the NCAA website

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