Triple threat powers Stanford soccer
STANFORD, Calif. -- Opponents have yet to find to find a way to spend 90 minutes on the same field with Kelley O'Hara, Christen Press and Lindsay Taylor without seeing the back of their net routinely ripple like a flag in the wind. But the difficulty of defending college soccer's most potent front line for an hour-and-a-half shouldn't be a surprise.
The attack, after all, is four seasons in design.
After a 2-0 win against No. 3 UCLA on Sunday, top-ranked Stanford is unbeaten and untied in 15 games. The Cardinal entered the weekend as the nation's most prolific offense, averaging 3.69 goals per game, and are likely to retain the top spot for another week after scoring six times against UCLA and USC. O'Hara, who scored twice against the Women of Troy, leads the way with 17 goals this season, while Press has 14; Taylor has four goals and eight assists.
Together, the three have scored more goals than seven teams in the Pac-10.
"The entire team is fantastic," coach Paul Ratcliffe said. "But the forwards are really combining well together; the chemistry is very strong and they're looking sharp and they're finishing chances."
The Cardinal will reach the NCAA tournament for the seventh time in as many seasons under Ratcliffe, but they had never before done so in quite the manner seen the past two falls. Last season's 22 wins were a program record, and Stanford's first College Cup appearance since 1993 came on the strength of 71 goals, also a single-season school record. Now it appears neither record will last even a year for a team that already has 54 goals and those 15 wins this season.
A senior and the elder stateswoman of the front line -- alongside Press, a junior, and Taylor, a sophomore -- O'Hara lived a different life as a freshman. The Cardinal won 15 games and reached the third round of the NCAA tournament then but scored just 37 goals in 23 games. Ask her now about the relative stress of playing for a team for which seemingly every game hangs on a single goal, and she can't even hold a wry laugh through the question mark.
"It's definitely more stressful, especially for defense as well because you really need the shutout," O'Hara said of her freshman experience. "Now we go into games, and you still get nervous and you still get a little stressed, but at the same time, I honestly just go into a game with so much confidence in my team and my teammates -- it's definitely not as stressful as my freshman year."
Separating the three on talent alone is impossible, but O'Hara is first among equals. She plays with alternating bursts of grace and fury, one moment dancing around a defender or effortlessly carrying the ball at a sprint, and the next moment throwing her body earthward in a tackle. She is fast with the ball at her feet; she may be even faster getting to her feet in pursuit of a loose ball she dislodged seconds earlier.
"Kelly's like the fighter on the team," Press said. "She brings a level of competitiveness that's just awesome. Every game she's consistent; she's a rock."
Both O'Hara and Press concede that it took some time for them to learn each other's games their first season together (in which Stanford's offense nonetheless improved to 46 goals in 23 games). But now in their third season together, and their second with Taylor, all three operate with an awareness of each other that is not always present at a position that demands a certain degree of selfishness.
"I'm big on the team concept … so I really preach that they have to combine and play well together," Ratcliffe said. "And we do different things in practice, restriction-wise on them, that they have to learn to play together. Because they're good enough to just get the ball and take it and do it all themselves, each and every one of them. But I want them to learn to combine because at the next level, you can't just do it on your own. You've got to learn to combine."
Sometimes he turns them loose in practice to play out their individual skills to a conclusion, but just as often, he limits the number of touches they may take or employs some other means to force them to rely on each other. To that end, Press, with a full season remaining next year, is in fifth place all-time in assists with 27 and within range of the top spot. O'Hara, who was credited with just two assists as a freshman, is one assist behind Press and two shy of fourth place.
"It's everything," Press said simply. "We're not going to score one versus four -- it's going to be all three of us, when we all get touches on the ball. Our best goals come from interplay between the three of us."
Adding Taylor last season was the final piece of the puzzle. Press echoes her coach in admiringly calling Taylor one of the best finishers she's ever seen.
"I think that we all have our own individual things that we like to do, and that kind of presents a threat to the other team in three different ways," O'Hara said. "I like to dribble, go end line, and Press and LT, they look for the outside shots, and LT can just school someone in the box and get a cross in. I just think that we have different skill sets, but they compliment each other well."
It's not just O'Hara, Press and Taylor who have Stanford unbeaten and in control of the race for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. As they themselves are quick to point out, the prolific nature of the offense stems as much from what the defenders and midfielders behind them do -- both in shutting down opponents and fueling the attack -- as finishing touches. But the haggard looks of defenders lucky enough to stay with the three of them for even a half tell a story all their own.
Even for the best programs, the stars align like this only every so often.
"This team has just showed our ability and what we can do," O'Hara said. "And I think that if we all show up to play, and if we all come with the right mentality every day, we end up being pretty good by the end of the game."
A small, sly grin of understatement accompanied the end of her thought.
Graham Hays covers women's college soccer for ESPN.com. E-mail him at Graham.Hays@espn3.com.
