Stanford women’s soccer fell short 1-0 in a tightly contested match against Wake Forest last Friday, after it traveled to Cary, N.C., for the NCAA tournament semifinals.
The defensive battle occurred in below-freezing temperatures and remained a stalemate until the 72nd minute when Deacon forward Emily Morris hit a curling volley to grant Wake Forest the lone goal of the match.
“It was an evenly played match and could’ve gone either way,” said Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe. “It was a game of margins, and unfortunately, we came out on the wrong side.”
Throughout the scoreless first half, neither team held a significant advantage. Possession was evenly split, with Wake Forest holding a slim 4-3 advantage in shots taken. Stanford redshirt junior forward Andrea Kitahata nearly scored in the 30th minute, with her shot bouncing off the inside of the left post and coming just inches away from the boundary, before goal-line clearance by Wake’s Kristin Johnson.
The Deacons dominated the beginning of the second period, recording five unanswered shots before scoring on their sixth chance. The winning shot was lofted high across the middle, and despite senior goalkeeper Haley Craig getting two hands on the ball, the deflection wasn’t enough to stop its momentum into the goal area. While it did not find the back of the net due to a clearance by Cardinal junior defender Elise Evans, her efforts came just a hair late, and the play was counted as a score.
Stanford brought more intensity throughout the remaining 15 minutes of the match behind a strong showing from Kitahata, but couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities. Deacon goalkeeper Valentina Amaral stood tall, saving all three of Stanford’s late attempts on goal, including two by Kitahata.
Although Stanford ultimately fell short of another national championship berth, this season’s finish marks their third College Cup appearance in the last five seasons and their 12th overall.
“Coming to the College Cup is always a goal for us, and something we talk about from the first day of preseason,” Evans said. “With all the adversity we’ve had to go through this year — a whole conference transition, having to travel 1,000 more miles, injuries, being a young team — making it back this year is absolutely phenomenal.”
With a few prior injuries to starters, most notably All-American junior midfielder Jasmine Aikey, Stanford started four freshmen in the match against Wake Forest. However, Ratcliffe described their play as “exceptional” and noted that he was glad they were able to experience playing in such an important game.
Wake Forest advanced to the National Championship to face No. 2 North Carolina, after their 3-0 shutout victory against No. 1 Duke. North Carolina defeated Wake Forest to claim their 23rd national title.
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