STANFORD, Calif. - Lo'eau LaBonta scored a golden goal in the first overtime period to give No. 4 Stanford a 1-0 victory over Oregon in Pac-12 women's soccer action Thursday night.
LaBonta’s team-leading eighth goal of the season came when she first-timed a rebound off Taylor Uhl’s saved shot. LaBonta's hard low shot from eight yards at 94:40, giving the Cardinal a deserved victory after bombarding the Ducks’ net most of the night. And this was after an incredible effort by Hannah Farr to get the ball to Uhl.
"They were the ones who did all the hard work," LaBonta said. "I literally just got there to the ball and whipped it as hard as I could and made sure it went in."
Stanford (15-1-2 overall, 7-1-1 Pac-12, 22 points) moved into a tie for first with UCLA (7-0-1, 22 points), though the Bruins have a match in hand going into their contest at Washington State on Friday. After that, each team has two matches remaining.
Stanford outshot the Ducks (6-9-2, 2-6-1) by a robust margin – 16-1 after halftime and 26-4 overall. LaBonta rifled a 25-yarder that was saved spectacularly by Steele, who tipped the shot over the goal. Teammate Chioma Ubogagu had several opportunities, including an overhead kick that became one of Steele’s eight saves.
“The goalkeeper’s good and they’re a well-organized team,” Ratcliffe said. “They weren’t easy to break through. But when you get chances, you’ve got to put them away and we didn’t put them away. As the game grew on, we were getting a little impatient, but we stuck to our gameplan and eventually got a nice goal from Lo.”
It wasn't until senior outside back Farr cut into the heart of the Oregon defense that Stanford as able to get the goal so long in coming. Farr push the ball forward to Uhl. With her back to the goal, Uhl turned each way before unleashing a left-footed shot that was saved.
However, the ball was deflected into the path of LaBonta, whose screaming shot found the net to give the Cardinal its fifth consecutive victory. LaBonta added to her season-high goal total, tying Ryan Walker-Hartshorn for the team lead.
Stanford earned its 14th shutout of the season. It was the 12th shutout of the season for sophomore goalkeeper Jane Campbell and the 18th of her career.
Another key player was sophomore forward Megan Turner, whose relentless energy and effort was crucial to nearly everything Stanford did offensively. She didn’t factor in the scoring play, but her influence was felt nonetheless.
“It was a strong performance,” Ratcliffe said. “We play good soccer, but we’ve got to execute better in the final third, especially as we’re getting closer to the playoffs. That’s going to be key, how we finish our chances.”
Stanford concludes its regular-season home schedule on Sunday with a 3 p.m. match against Oregon State. Stanford's seven graduating seniors, including LaBonta, Farr, and Uhl, will be honored before the match.
* * *
| Oregon | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 0 |
| Stanford | 0 | 0 | 1 | -- | 1 |
Scoring: Stanford - Lo'eau LaBonta (unassisted) 94:40.
Records: Stanford 15-1-2, 7-1-1; Oregon 6-9-2, 2-6-1.