WOMEN’S NEWS … Last year, Stanford put up a five-spot when it made the trek down El Camino Real to Santa Clara. Thursday night, the No. 1 Cardinal outdid itself, pounding the Broncos, 6-2. Buck Shaw Stadium sure feels like home!

Christen Press and Kelley O’Hara combined for four goals and two assists, giving them 30 points apiece for the 11-0-0 Cardinal, who matched its best start ever in 1991.

The Santa Clara program has been rejuvenated this season, but the Silicon Valley Super Clasico was no contest. Even a special pre-game speech by San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary, a friend of strength and conditioning coach Greg Marshall, was of little help to the Broncos.

“Stanford proved today how good a team they are,” said Santa Clara coach Jerry Smith. “They beat us in every aspect of the game tonight and you have to hand it to [Stanford coach] Paul Ratcliffe, his staff, and his players.  They did a tremendous job.  I’ve been saying for weeks they are the best team in the country and they beat us good today. I think my team is pretty solid team and today they made us look average.”
 
* GAME OF THE DAY:
Oct. 1 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Santa Clara 2 Stanford 6. Goals: Angeli (Bosio) 16, Shim pen. 80; O’Hara (Press) 25, Press (Nogueira) 37, Noyola (Taylor) 53, O’Hara (Taylor) 55, Press (O’Hara) 62, Hing-Glover 87.
Santa Clara — Henninger, LaPonte, Potts, Angeli, Matheson, Perry, Reynolds, Webster, Patton, Vernon, Bosio. Subs: Lahman, Orand, Miller, Chun, Poach, Lewis, Aozasa, Beaudoin, Johnson, Shim, Jeffers, Crum.
Stanford — Maker, Quon, Jenkins, Garciamendez, A.Riley, Nogueira, McCann, Noyola, O’Hara, Taylor, Press. Subs: Verloo Dickerson, Stannard, K.Riley, Watkins, Finley, Averbuch, Heath, Redman, Hing-Glover.
Referee: Vince Cortes.
Att.: 1,483.

* BC COACH FUMES. No. 2 North Carolina survived another scare, getting late penalty kicks from Casey Nogueira and Ali Hawkins to defeat No. 6 Boston College, 2-1, on Thursday night before a crowd of 1,800 at the Boston College Soccer Complex. Both goals resulted after the Eagles were called for handballs in the penalty area — calls that infuriated BC coach Alison Kulik, who had to restrain herself from confronting referee Andrew Chapin.

“Clearly, both of those [handballs] weren’t intentional,” she told the Boston Globe. “It’s unfortunate … What’s done is done. I can’t change the result. For me, to go after the middle guy [Chapin], as tempting as it might have been, serves me no purpose. I’d let my team down. They need me on Sunday and I need to be there [for another ACC home game against N.C. State]. That’s my job. It crossed my mind.”

Midfielder Gina DiMartino had chipped Tar Heel goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris (back from the U.S. national team camp) in the 55th minute for BC, which won its opening nine games of the season before dropping back-to-back games to No. 5 Florida State, 3-2, and now Carolina.

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