Cardinal crush Utah and Colorado to stay undefeated

No. 3 Stanford girls’s soccer (12-0-1, 5-0-0 Pac-12) introduced residence all six factors from their street journey, coming again in opposition to No. 25 Colorado (10-3-1, 2-2-1 Pac-12) and Utah (5-4-5, 1-2-2 Pac-12) to maintain their excellent undefeated season alive.

Of their recreation in opposition to the Buffaloes on Thursday, the Cardinal went down early, conceding a grass-cutting shot from the Pac-12’s main scorer Shyra James within the eleventh minute. The remainder of the primary half was all Stanford, however they didn’t appear to have the ability to break via, amassing seven complete pictures and placing three on aim. All it took was a wondergoal from sophomore midfielder Jasmine Aikey, who unleashed a fantastic roller from outdoors the field to stage the rating within the fortieth minute.

It was not lengthy earlier than they scored once more, with freshman midfielder Joelle Jung firing in a shot from simply contained in the penalty space to place the Cardinal up simply earlier than the half. Fifth-year midfielder Maya Doms headed in a cross from freshman ahead Erica Grilione to seal Stanford’s third come-from-behind win on the season.

“I feel it’s actually a testomony to our character and our combat as a crew, as a result of not plenty of groups have that grit to return again after being down,” stated redshirt sophomore ahead Andrea Kitahata. “It takes winners to return again from that scoreline.”

Recent off of their win, the crew traveled to Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah, for a noon recreation in opposition to the Utes. Kitahata broke via early on this one, slotting away a cross from freshman ahead Maryn Wolf to present the Cardinal a lead they protected till the top.

“We’ve acquired an incredible protection,” Kitahata stated. “So maintaining these shutouts is big for us, and infrequently with the ability to put only one likelihood away is all we actually want. So I’ll take a one to nothing win any day.”

This was Stanford’s seventh shutout of the season, showcasing one among their largest strengths: defensive solidity. “I feel we’re simply so sound at any line, whether or not that be the protection, the midfield and the ahead line,” stated senior goalkeeper Ryan Campbell. “For me particularly, each recreation, I clearly go in with the mindset of eager to get a shutout.”

The Cardinal has but to let in a couple of aim in any match, averaging lower than half of a aim allowed per recreation.

However their dominance doesn’t cease with the protection: Stanford’s offense is a shot-creating juggernaut, outshooting their opponents in 11 out of 13 video games and greater than doubling their adversaries’ output on 9 of these events.

“Creating these probabilities and placing these targets away is actually what helps us to win these video games,” Kitahata stated.

With the crew’s success, it’s straightforward to get complacent. Nonetheless, Campbell confused the significance of staying targeted and at all times enhancing: “I feel we’ve achieved a extremely good job of not being end result pushed. It’s straightforward to say, ‘Let’s simply win this recreation.’ However we additionally at all times speak about enjoying a great recreation.”

This mentality has propelled the Cardinal to new heights this season. Enhancing after profitable the Pac-12 championship is a tall order, however this yr’s squad appears to have shored up its play away from residence, with a tie at Georgetown (7-1-6, 3-0-3 Large East) the one blemish on their file.

“On the street, there are completely different challenges,” Campbell stated. “This weekend, we had altitude, we had a variety of issues. However I feel in the event you go away a recreation speaking about what methods the crew performed, or what the climate offered, I feel you’re already shedding as a result of it’s in regards to the crew and the unit.”

“Our targets this season haven’t modified,” Kitahata stated. “We wish to win a nationwide championship and we wish to win the Pac-12.”

Ranked third within the nation and unbeaten via 13 video games, Stanford’s girls’s soccer crew is on the trail to the championship.

The Cardinal will proceed its in-conference play with a three-game residence stand, beginning with Washington (6-5-2, 1-4 Pac-12) on Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. PT.