No. 3 Stanford (8–1–1, 2–0–1 ACC) defeated Boston College (4–3–4, 0–2–1 ACC) in their first conference matchup at Cagan last Thursday, scoring two goals to the Eagles while notching another clean sheet. Their win marks Paul Ratcliffe’s 400th win as Stanford’s head coach.
The Cardinal maintained strong offensive pressure throughout the match, especially within the first half, where they outshot the Boston College side 15 shots to none. After nearly exclusively keeping possession of the ball in the opening minutes of the match, the Eagles strung together their substantial attack; buoyed by a pair of fouls on senior Allie Montoya and junior Joelle Jung, the Eagles’ offense brought the ball to the Stanford side but failed to attempt a shot.
Instead, on a Boston College throw in, freshman midfielder Lily Freer intercepted the ball, driving it down-field into the Eagles defense. As senior Jasmine Aikey approached the ball, the Eagle goalkeeper Olivia Shippee attempted to clear the ball, which deflected off of Aikey’s foot and into the goal in the 11th minute of the match, giving the Cardinal the early lead and Aikey her team-leading eighth goal.
With Stanford dominating the possession game throughout the first half, Ratcliffe brought freshmen Y-Lan Nguyen, Brooke Holden, and Milly Bray and sophomores Eleanor Klinger, Jaden Thomas and Sammy Smith into the match. While the Cardinal maintained possession of the ball and controlled the passing game throughout the rest of the half, managing three more shots on goal, they went into half-time with just the one goal scored.
The Cardinal offense came back blazing in the second half, firing off nine shots within the first 10 minutes. Stanford had their first chance at extending their lead two minutes into the half when redshirt senior Andrea Kitahata fired a barely deflected shot into the top right corner of the net. The Stanford offense kept their foot on the gas, as a well-placed pass by Freer down the left sideline found Kitahata, who attempted a shot off the crossbar. The ball was rebounded by Montoya, who successively fired a blocked shot and a shot into the side of the net, ultimately coming up empty-handed on the attack.
Ratcliffe substituted out Aikey and sophomore Charlotte Kohler early in the second half, an opportunity that Boston College quickly capitalized on: within nine minutes of the substitutions, the Eagles attempted their first two shots while keeping the ball in the Stanford half and briefly controlling the passing game. Ultimately, the second shot compelled Ratcliffe to re-enter Aikey and Kohler into the match in the 70th minute, which provided a critical spark to the Stanford offense.
Within five minutes of the substitutions, the Stanford offense began to dominate possession as both Aikey and Kohler attempted shots. Their offensive efforts culminated in a goal-scoring attack in the 77th minute. Kohler, a midfielder, passed the ball to Kitahata downfield, who crossed the ball to Aikey. Aikey, in turn, sent an arching, curved shot into the net, providing the Cardinal with insurance in the final minutes of the game.
The final minutes of the game concluded uneventfully, with freshman keeper Caroline Birkel making a save on the Eagles’ fifth and final shot of the match. Stanford outshot Boston College 36 shots to five, setting a new season record for shots attempted. The Cardinal also picked up their fifth clean sheet in their first ten matches this season.
Looking ahead, Stanford will continue their conference play with games this week against Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech.