No. 3 women’s soccer (4-0, 0-0 Pac-12) took care of business against San José State (1-1-2, 0-0 MW) for a 7-0 win, head coach Paul Ratcliffe’s 300th on the Farm.
Ratcliffe was given an ice bath after the game to celebrate the occasion.
“In all my years at Stanford, all the credit goes to the amazing student-athletes I’ve had the opportunity to coach,” Ratcliffe said.
Now in his 17th season with the Cardinal, Ratcliffe has won two national championships, has never failed to reach the NCAA tournament, and has been named Pac-12 coach of the year nine times. No other coach has won the award more than twice.
Senior forward Carly Malatskey tallied the first brace of her career. Entering the season Malatskey had just one goal to her name, but has exploded for four in the first four games.
“I think it’s been coming,” Malatskey said. “I’m excited for this final season I want to give it my all and do everything I can to help the team.”
Junior forward Catarina Macario also beat San José State keeper Ariana Romero twice, her third two-goal performance of the season. Stanford was familiar with Romero after facing her as a member of Seattle University in the 2018 NCAA tournament, before she transferred to San José. Malatskey’s “long overdue” first goal came in that contest.
“Outstanding performance by the team,” Ratcliffe said. “I thought it was a great collective effort so many players contributing.”
Stanford shot 30 times and tested Romero on 14 of those occasions, while redshirt freshman keeper Katie Meyer, in her second start, faced one shot attempt, which she easily handled. The shutout was the first of the season for Stanford.
The Spartans recorded 11 shutouts and allowed just 19 goals all of last season on their way to the Mountain West championship, but were bested seven times by the Cardinal on Sunday.
Macario opened scoring in the 13th minute with a left footed shot that found the corner of the goal. The Spartans were attempting to clear their lines, but Macario stepped in and hit a shot first time that made its way to the back of the net.
In the 31st minute, freshman midfielder Maya Doms headed a ball onto Macario, who slipped junior forward Abby Greubel into the box. Greubel had no problem finishing for her second goal in as many games with a low shot along the surface. Macario and freshman midfielder Maya Doms were given credit for the assist.
Malatskey’s first goal came on a header in the 40th minute off a perfect cross from redshirt junior Sam Tran. The Spartans could not regain possession after a Cardinal corner kick, and found themselves down a trio of goals at halftime after a trio of shutouts to start the season.
Stanford looked to make it four soon after halftime when junior outside back Kiki Pickett found Macario, but Romero saved both Macario’s attempt and the follow-up from redshirt freshman Sierra Enge. The goal came soon after, in the 54th minute, on a free kick swung in by Macario that found junior forward Madison Haley at the back post for her second goal of the year.
Malatskey made it five on the night as she once again found herself in the right spot in the 57th minute. Not wanting to be outdone, Macario added her second goal four minutes later off a low cross from Greubel.
With a six-goal lead, Ratcliffe was able to empty his bench, which made way for the final goal to be an all-freshman affair. Doms connected with defender Paige Rubinstein, who picked out forward Kattalin Stahl in the box. Stahl redirected the ball on frame for her first Stanford goal in her second game seeing minutes.
“I think you saw them on display tonight,” Ratcliffe said. “All of our freshman played and I think our future looks bright over the next four years with them in charge.”
“They’re doing great,” Malatskey said of the freshman. “From the beginning we knew everyone has to contribute because we lost such key players. I think they’ve done a great job, they’re really fitting into their role. ”
San José defender Karlee Pottorff was shown the only caution of the match in the 84th minute with the game well in hand. The Spartans committed eight fouls, while the Cardinal were whistled for just one.
The Cardinal are poised to rise in the poll after No. 1 Florida State (2-2, 0-0 ACC), the team that knocked Stanford out of the College Cup last year, fell to a pair of Pac-12 opponents No. 4 UCLA (4-0, 0-0 Pac-12) and No. 5 USC (4-0, 0-0 Pac-12) over the weekend.
Stanford continued to experiment with a 3-5-2, with senior defender Sam Hiatt stepping up into the midfield to leave sophomore Naomi Girma as the lone center back.
“We’re being flexible in our formation this year,” Ratcliffe said. “I think it’s been good in the development of our team and will help us later in the season when we want to change tactics.”
Both Hiatt and Girma wear the captain’s armband for the Cardinal, based on a vote held by the players and coaches.
“Sam Hiatt and Naomi Girma are fantastic leaders for this team,” Ratcliffe said. “They’ve really brought everyone together and you can see that in the performance tonight.”
Stanford heads off on a road trip that will keep it off campus until Oct. 1 and concludes with a matchup against USC to open Pac-12 play. The first stop on the trip is USF next Sunday.
“We treat every game the same,” Malatskey said. “We obviously love playing at home but when we go away, it’s just another challenge we embrace.”
Contact Daniel Martinez-Krams at danielmk ‘at’ stanford.edu.