As the PA announcer’s 10-second countdown rang round the stadium in Louisville, Ky. on Thursday, it appeared inevitable that No. 6 Stanford (13-2-1, 5-2-1 ACC) would be held scoreless. Louisville (6-6-3, 1-5-1 ACC) had defended resiliently and — in the final ten minutes — came closest to scoring on multiple dangerous counter-attacks, as Stanford’s two prior matches against ranked opponents were clearly taking a toll on the team’s sharpness.
However, with just two seconds remaining, a desperate ball launched into the box, missed everyone and fell to junior forward Lumi Kostmayer. She thumped a first-time volley into the roof of the net to cue jubilant celebrations from the Cardinal players and seal a hard-fought 1-0 win for the away side.
“We expended a lot of energy [the past week] and [though] spirits were high after the big result against UNC, it’s hard on their legs,” said head coach Paul Ratcliffe. “Some of the starters were a little fatigued, so it was a great team victory.”
Kostmayer’s strike capped a determined performance from the away team after a timid first half. Both sides managed just five collective shots, a surprising figure considering Stanford had averaged 16 a game this season. The middle of the field was well marshaled by Louisville, which prevented sophomore midfielder Mia Bhuta from orchestrating attacks and feeding the forwards. Instead, the Cardinal was forced wide repeatedly. Though both fullbacks — freshman Lizzie Boamah and senior Nya Harrison — saw lots of the ball, neither was able to progress it into the final third with much success.
As the second half began, the Cardinal made some adjustments to gain control of the game and subsequently force wave after wave of attacks on their opponent.
Sophomore midfielder Shae Harvey and Bhuta “need to want the ball and the speed of play has to increase,” Ratcliffe said at halftime.
One change that was particularly effective was moving Boamah from left back to left forward after the break. The energetic freshman utilized her speed to lead the line and provide a focal point for the Cardinal’s attack, which was playing lackluster and without a shot in 34 minutes.
Soon after the change, the Cardinal had its best chance of the night before the eventual winner, when Harvey displayed tremendous speed to recover a second ball ahead of the defender after a clearance in the box. Harvey neatly turned down the left by-line and put the ball into the box, where it ricocheted off the chest of a Louisville center back. The deflection looked destined to nestle into the bottom corner fortuitously for Stanford before Louisville’s keeper made a tremendous diving stop.
Despite Stanford’s resurgence, Louisville remained a threat on the break. As the game progressed, with a stalemate looming, Ratcliffe transitioned to three at the back in the hopes of securing the winner. But this left Stanford more vulnerable and Louisville attackers created a few three-on-three opportunities which could have yielded a goal but for poor decision-making and — on one instance — an incredible recovery challenge by junior defender Elise Evans.
“Elise was a rock,” Ratcliffe said after the game. “It is rare to switch to three at the back on the road, so full credit to the team.”
Evans was key to securing Stanford’s clean sheet, but she was almost the victim of cruel misfortune when a hopeful shot from outside of the box struck her leg and careened off the post. Louisville gained confidence with each half-chance, ensuring the game remained on a knife-edge until Kostmayer’s dagger.
Stanford is now unbeaten in 50 of its last 53 matches and will be understandably elated after sealing consecutive clean sheets following a tough loss against No. 1 Duke last week. The Cardinal’s road trip concludes with a battle against No. 12 Notre Dame (9-1-3, 3-0-3 ACC) at 11 a.m. on Sunday, before they wrap up the regular season at home on Halloween night. With the team’s inaugural participation in the ACC tournament thus fast approaching, Thursday’s last-minute winner should provide great momentum for the team to carry forward into tournament play.