No. 1 Stanford women’s soccer (10-0-1, 3-0 Pac-12) beat Washington (5-6-1, 0-3) handily on Sunday afternoon at home, winning 3-0 despite playing down one player for most of the game.
The Cardinal had to compete with only 10 players on the field (instead of the typical 11) after senior goalkeeper Jane Campbell received a red card in the 10th minute. Despite being outnumbered on the field for the remaining 80 minutes, the Cardinal were dominant on offense and maintained their undefeated record.
The red card was given after a collision between Campbell and the Huskies’ Kimberly Keever. Campbell had moved off the goal line to defend against a breakaway by Keever. Just before she connected with Campbell, Keever fell and came into contact with a sliding Campbell. The play was ruled a penalty kick and Campbell received a red card, meaning not only that she was removed from the game but also that the Cardinal could not put an 11th player back on the field.
The Cardinal had the benefit of already being up 1-0 when Campbell was taken out of play, thanks to an early goal from senior forward Megan Turner in the third minute, assisted by forward Kyra Carusa. Carusa assisted the Cardinal’s second goal as well, which freshman midfielder Tierna Davidson scored just 24 seconds into the second half. Davidson rocketed the ball from the top of the 18-yard penalty box into the top right corner of the goal.
Before Stanford extended its lead, however, Washington nearly tied the match on the penalty kick given along with Campbell’s red card. Goalkeeper Alison Jahansouz, a redshirt sophomore, was put in for the penalty kick after Campbell left the field. Jahansouz made a remarkable save against the forceful shot from the Huskies’ Shannon Simon, diving to her lower left side and blocking the ball with her hands. Jahansouz made a second save later in the match.
The drama of the match continued into the second half. Washington scored an own goal at the 59th minute, with the unusual mistake extending Stanford’s lead to 3-0. From the center of the field, Turner fired the ball across and toward the goal. As the Huskies’ Domini Bond-Flasza attempted to intercept Turner’s angled pass, the ball ricocheted off Bond-Flasza’s foot. It sailed over the Huskies’ goalkeeper to the back of the net, notching the Cardinal’s third and final goal of the day.
Stanford is at the top in multiple national polls and displayed that strength on Sunday, dictating on both offense and defense. Stanford had 7 shots on goal, while Washington had only 2. Stanford also had 7 corner kicks compared to Washington’s 3.
The favorable statistics are remarkable given that Stanford had only 10 players. They also show that the Cardinal were more in control than in their prior match, a 2-1 victory over Washington State on Thursday. While the Cardinal defeated Washington State, the Cougars took 14 shots compared to Stanford’s 10.
The Cardinal’s dominant performance bodes well for their match against No. 12 USC at 4 p.m. on Thursday in Los Angeles. The Trojans (9-2-0, 3-0) are undefeated at home (4-0), which could be an interesting challenge for Stanford since the Cardinal have played their last nine matches at home.
Contact Alexa Corse at corsea ‘at’ stanford.edu.