Stanford women’s soccer (6-6-2, 5-4-1 Pac-12) took on Cal (5-7-1, 3-7-1 Pac-12) this Friday evening in what was an incredible matchup and even better storybook ending.
The game featured dominant defense by the Cardinal, holding Cal to a single shot on goal for the entirety of regular time. Stanford, on the other hand, put six shots on frame by the end of the second period.
During regular time, sophomore midfielder Maya Doms took five shots, freshman forward Samantha Williams took two shots, senior defender Kiki Pickett took two shots, freshman Julia Leontini took a shot and redshirt junior Civana Kuhlmann took a shot.
Despite Stanford’s valiant efforts to put one in before the 90 minute mark, Cal sophomore keeper Angelina Anderson kept her team in the game with six saves on the night.
Heading into overtime, the Cardinal came out even more fierce, determined to get one last win in the regular season. It would only take one more shot on goal for the team to put the game to rest, and that shot was picture perfect.
In her final Pac-12 game for the Cardinal, Pickett made a fast break up the field in the 93rd minute, as Kuhlmann sprinted ahead on her right. Pickett slotted the ball through two defenders at Kuhlmann’s feet as Kuhlmann tip-toed the offside line. Kuhlmann took a single touch and fired past the keeper to end the game, leading the Cardinal to a 1-0 victory over their Bay Area rivals.
As two of the most established players on the roster this season, Pickett and Kuhlmann added yet another assist to Pickett’s career tally. Fans could see the emotion as players fell to the ground embracing both Pickett and Kuhlmann after the win.
This game concludes the 2020-21 women’s soccer regular season. The Cardinal will now wait until Monday to see if it earned a berth to the NCAA tournament.