Stanford Cardinal are Finally Champions

Stanford seniors Camille Levin, Teresa Noyola, Lindsay Taylor, and Kristy Zurmuhlen played their final game together on Sunday. At the end of that game, they accomplished something they had never done before. They became National Champions.

In 2008, they lost in the National Semifinal. Then, in 2009, they lost in the National Championship 1-0 to UNC. Last year, they suffered the same heartbreak losing 1-0 to Notre Dame in the championship game.

The halftime of Sunday's game saw Stanford and Duke tied at 0-0. Was history going to repeat itself again? When asked whether the Cardinal players were thinking about this, Levin said they weren't. I'm sure it was nagging them in the back of their minds.

In the 54th minute, Noyola used her head to dismiss any notions of that happening. Noyola actually started play with the ball at her feet. She switched fields nicely. After a battle for the ball, Levin emerged and sent in a booming cross. She found Noyola at the back post, who burried it.

Duke played hard trying to find the equalizer, but the Cardinal stood firm. When the final whistle blew, those seniors finally had the victory they had been seeking for four years.

The Stanford seniors finished with a career record of 95-4-4 and the first Women's Soccer National Championship in school history.

ESPN's Beth Mowins and Julie Foudy break down the game winning goal and the implications of the victory: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:7315721