No. 1-ranked Stanford women’s soccer ended its regular season with a win against No. 22 California (15-3-1, 6-4-1 Pac-12) 1-0 for senior night on the Farm, pushing its conference record to a perfect 11-0. The Cardinal (18-1-0, 11-0-0) also extended their win streak to 16, outscoring their opponents 59-3 during that span.
Going into the game, the Cardinal were confident. All-time, Stanford dominates the series against the Golden Bears 20-11-5, but in addition, Stanford is undefeated in its last 11 matches against Cal. While history was on Stanford side, the Cardinal was still prepared for a tough match as Cal owns the second-best goal-against average with .44, only second to the Cardinal’s .33. Moreover, the Bears entered the game allowing only eight goals over the season, while maintaining a 10-game shutout streak which the Cardinal eventually snapped.
The game was the Cardinal’s last regular season match, as well as the last guaranteed home game. Stanford honored its senior class: Kyra Carusa, Alison Jahansouz, Mariah Lee and Andi Sullivan. This class has led the Cardinal to a 74-7-6 record that includes three Pac-12 championships, one College Cup appearance and two trips to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
From the first whistle, Stanford went on the attack. In just the first five minutes, the Cardinal registered six shots and just three minutes later peppered one on cage that barely ticked off Cal keeper Emily Boyd’s fingers. Stanford would eventually break through in the 43rd minute when freshman forward Catarina Macario, off a pass from fellow freshman Madison Haley, found the back of the net to put Stanford up 1-0. Converting her 14th goal of the season, the freshman still leads the team in scoring.
Over the course of the game, the Cardinal shot 39 times, including 16 on-net attempts. Boyd was forced to save a career-high 14 shots but eventually was overwhelmed by the Cardinal offense. While Stanford was unable to extend its lead, six players, juniors Jordan DiBiasi and Kyra Carusa and freshmen Civana Kuhlmann, Haley, Macario and Sullivan, each finished the night with three or more shots on goal.
Stanford will look to keep its offensive presence in the opening round of the post season. Seeding and opponents will be determined on Monday at 1:30 p.m. PT. The selection show will be available at NCAA.com.
Contact Julia Massaro at jmassaro ‘at’ stanford.edu.