No. 1 Stanford women’s soccer (11-1-1, 4-1-0 Pac-12) withstood a fierce effort from No. 10 UCLA (9-3-1, 3-1-1), winning 3-2 in double overtime on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles.
The Cardinal had the offensive advantage throughout the match, with a final tally of 19-12 in shots and 8-3 in corner kicks. However, UCLA pushed the match into overtime with a goal in the 86th minute. After a closely contested back-and-forth that stretched into double overtime, senior defender Maddie Bauer scored the game-winning goal off a corner kick from junior midfielder Andi Sullivan.
“The team played with great determination and won a tough match at UCLA,” head coach Paul Ratcliffe said. “Maddie Bauer has been a strong leader for our team all season and she came up big in overtime.”
The victory over UCLA comes after a rare loss for Stanford, which fell 3-0 to No. 7 USC on Thursday, although Stanford controlled possession for much of the match.
The loss to USC snapped some of Stanford’s most incredible streaks, including 269 games of giving up no more than two goals and 21 consecutive wins against Pac-12 teams. Last Thursday’s loss and Sunday’s fierce contest with UCLA demonstrate the relentless pressure that top-level teams can exert over a 90-or-more-minute match.
The Bruins started out hot on Sunday, forcing Stanford’s senior goalkeeper Jane Campbell to make a dramatic save in the sixth minute that kept the scoreboard blank. UCLA gained the lead in the 12th minute with a goal from Amber Munerlyn, which put the Cardinal behind in a match for only the second time this season (the USC loss was the first).
But less than a minute later, Sullivan countered with an equalizing goal off an assist from senior forward Megan Turner. Stanford controlled possession for the rest of the half, taking more than twice as many shots (9-4) and six corner kicks while the Bruins had none.
However, Stanford did not actually secure the lead until the 63rd minute, with a goal from sophomore midfielder Michelle Xiao to put the Cardinal up 2-1. Junior Kyra Carusa provided the assist. With seven assists so far this season, Carusa is the team leader in that category and has already surpassed the total of six assists she completed last year as a redshirt freshman.
Campbell made a series of big saves in the final 20 minutes of regulation, but with only four minutes left the Bruins tied the score at 2-2. Both goalkeepers made key saves during the two overtime periods.
Finally, a corner kick by Andi Sullivan set up Stanford’s winning goal in the 103rd minute. After Sullivan sent in the corner kick, the ball was contested among several players in front of UCLA’s goal. Bauer got ahold of it, scoring the game-winning goal for Stanford and her first for the season.
Stanford has held the top spot in the NSCAA Coaches Poll, the TopDrawerSoccer rankings and the Soccer America rankings for three consecutive weeks. The Cardinal still has a chance of maintaining its No. 1 rank after its recent loss, since No. 2 Florida State was limited to a 1-1 draw against Syracuse on Sunday.
Last week, Sullivan and Campbell were selected to attend the full U.S. Women’s National team camp, with a shot at playing for the national team in two matches during October. Only one other collegiate player, forward Ashley Hatch from BYU, received an invitation to the training camp.
Stanford next travels to Corvallis, Oregon, where it will face off against Oregon State on Friday at 7 p.m.
Contact Alexa Corse at corsea ‘at’ stanford.edu.