The No. 1 Stanford women’s soccer team advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament Friday, beating South Carolina (16-7-0) 2-0 on a rainy night at Cagan Stadium.
The Cardinal (21-0-1) will face a tired Boston College (13-5-2) squad that needed penalty kicks to beat Cal (12-7-3) in a scoreless game.
Stanford dominated the action, outshooting the Gamecocks 25-4 despite a first-half downpour. Junior midfielder Mariah Nogueira opened the scoring with a close-range header off a feed from senior midfielder Teresa Noyola in the 34th minute. The Cardinal added on with a pinpoint, 67th-minute strike from sophomore midfielder Taylor McCann.
Senior midfielder Kristy Zurmuhlen left the game with what appeared to be a leg injury in the 44th minute, and did not return–her status for the rest of the tournament is still unknown.
Stanford will meet Boston College at home on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Cardinal’s sixth Sweet-16 appearance in as many years.