No. 9 Stanford women’s soccer (12-4-1, 6-1-1 Pac-12) fell to No. 5 UCLA (13-0-3, 5-0-3 Pac-12) Thursday evening after a late goal from the Bruins. The 0-1 scoreline was representative of a back-and-forth battle between the sides, resulting in a narrow victory for the home team. 

The match was competitive and physical, threatening to proceed into overtime. Both teams played strong defense, limiting the opposing team to, at the most, five shots on target. Offensively, both teams were restricted and much of the game was played outside the boxes. 

Overall, Stanford had 11 shots and limited UCLA to six shots with only three on target. The Cardinal gained seven corner kicks in comparison to the Bruins’ two. 

Going into the half at 0-0, frustration grew for Stanford. In the 62nd minute, sophomore forward Samantha Williams picked up the first yellow card of the game, and in the 73rd, freshman defender Avani Brandt was given the second. 

Late into the second half, prospects for Stanford looked promising as they slowly began taking control of the game. However, an 87th minute goal from the opposition left the Cardinal with little time to reenter the match. 

Stanford went on to lose 0-1 after a hard fought match that featured superb showings from both sides. The schedule will not get any easier for Stanford as they remain in southern California to face USC this Sunday at noon. The match can be watched on Pac-12 Networks.