This Sunday, Stanford women’s soccer (3-2, 2-1 Pac-12) faced off against Colorado (4-2-1, 1-1-1 Pac-12) for its third Pac-12 game of the season. The Cardinal narrowly defeated the Buffaloes with a final score of 2-1.
The match started out full of action as freshman midfielder/forward Sarah Paulson put in a shot in the fourth minute after catching the opposing goalie too far from her post. This marked Paulson’s second goal of the season and another assist for sophomore defender/midfielder Sierra Enge.
In the 15th minute, freshman midfielder Amy Sayer picked up a yellow card after a series of back and forth fouls from both teams. Throughout the first half, both goalies were tested, tallying a total of five saves between them.
Sophomore keeper Katie Meyer led the backline, along with the return of sophomore defender Kennedy Wesley to the starting line up and the substitution of freshman defender Julia Leontini in the 38th minute. Leontini, who had a major impact in both of Stanford’s first two games, picked up a knock last weekend, and did not play Friday against Utah.
Right before the half, a header by Colorado junior defender Hannah Sharts found the back of the net, leveling the score at 1-1.
Both teams were hot out of the gate looking for a second goal to start the second half. Freshman midfielder/forward Catherine Paulson, sophomore midfielder Maya Doms and junior forward Civana Kuhlmann all took shots on goal in the first five minutes of the period. Superb goalkeeping from Colorado’s sophomore keeper Dani Hansen prevented all from going in.
A physical second half saw Sharts awarded a yellow card in the 53rd minute.
Kuhlmann slotted in the game-winning goal for Stanford in the 88th minute of the game with an assist from senior midfielder Belle Briede. This marked Kuhlmann’s third goal of the season, putting Stanford up 2-1 with two minutes of play left.
Colorado was unable to find the net once more and Stanford took home the late victory. Throughout the game, Stanford had a total of 17 shots, nine of which were on target and seven of which were saved. Colorado took 10 shots, five of which were on target, with Meyer saving four.
Next up, Stanford faces the University of Washington this Friday at 4 p.m. PT. The match can be watched here.