Stanford women defeat Santa Clara in NCAA sweet 16

 STANFORD, Calif. – Teresa Noyola struck a 25-yard free kick into the upper right corner in the 39th minute to give No. 1 Stanford a 1-0 victory over Santa Clara in the third round of the NCAA women’s soccer tournament Friday night before a sellout crowd of 2,276 at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.

Noyola, a sophomore midfielder who entered the match as a substitute midway through the first half, took the kick after Kelley O’Hara drew a foul in front of the penalty area. Noyola measured her shot carefully before chipping it off the fingertips of Santa Clara goalkeeper Bianca Henninger. It was the sixth goal of the year for Noyola.

Stanford (23-0), the top seed in its 16-team regional, advances to the quarterfinals next Friday, most likely at home, against No. 2-seeded Boston College. The Eagles (18-3-2) advanced by beating Wisconsin, 1-0.

Santa Clara (14-7-2) applied much second-half pressure, with Stanford goalkeeper Kira Maker turning away the Broncos’ best chance on a well-placed chip shot by Jordan Angeli. Stanford outshot Santa Clara, 20-8, and had a chance at the second goal on an O’Hara header that was cleared off the line by Kiki Bosio.

Stanford advanced to the quarterfinals for the seventh time in school history, and beat Santa Clara in NCAA play for the second time in seven meetings and first time since 1991. The teams met on Oct. 1, when Stanford beat the Broncos, 6-2.