STANFORD, Calif. – Chioma Ubogagu scored in the 84th minute to give No. 3 Stanford a 1-0 victory over Washington State on Sunday in a matchup of the top two defenses in collegiate women’s soccer.
Stanford (10-0-2 overall, 2-0-1 Pac-12) earned its 10th shutout of the season while beating one of the nation’s three other unbeaten teams. Washington State (7-1-2, 2-1-0) entered the match tied with the Cardinal for first in the nation in fewest goals allowed, with two apiece.
Ubogagu scored only 38 seconds after re-entering the match. The Cardinal dominated possession throughout the match, but had just started bombarding the Cougar goal when Ubogagu came in for Mariah Lee, whose play helped put Washington State on its heels.
In the 10 minutes leading up to the goal, Stanford had three corner kicks and five shots, including a screamer by Lo’eau LaBonta that smacked hard off the post just moments before Ubogagu’s winner.
“Overall, with the team play building up to it, it was just a matter of time,” Stanford coach Paul Ratcliffe said. “It was coming.”
Whether he subbed in Ubogagu or not, “We were going to score one way or the other,” he said.
Ubogagu felt it too while on the bench.
“You just feel it,” Ubogagu said. “Paul uses the analogy, ‘They’re on the cliff, you just have to push them over.’ That’s where they were in those final minutes.”
Haley Rosen slid a pass to Ubogagu just to the right of the box. Ubogagu cut inside and fired a left-footed shot from 22 yards that slid inside the right post. It was Ubogagu’s third winner in 1-0 victories this season, following an overtime effort at No. 4 North Carolina and a first-half goal against No. 14 Portland.
The victory shrinks the number of undefeated teams left in the country to Stanford, UCLA, and DePaul. Stanford and No. 1 UCLA (10-0-2, 2-0-1) play Thursday in Westwood in a matchup of Pac-12 co-leaders.
Though Stanford had 80-90 percent of the possession, the Cardinal lacked strong scoring opportunities for much of the match, though the Cardinal would outshoot Washington State, 20-3.
“Their center-backs did a really good job of staying tight on our forwards and stepping into the ball,” said Ubogagu, who now has four goals. “At halftime, Paul said we needed one more pass. That would break them apart and create a really solid chance on frame. That’s exactly what happened. Once we found that pass and made them run even more, they were getting fatigued. It just opened up more chances.”
Now, the Cardinal can turn toward UCLA, a team Stanford has faced in four of the past five NCAA tournaments. Stanford and UCLA have combined to win at least a share of the past 13 Pac-10/Pac-12 titles and 19 of 20 since the conference first sponsored women’s soccer. The 8 p.m. match will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks.
* * *
| Washington State | 0 | 0 | -- | 0 |
| Stanford | 0 | 1 | -- | 1 |
Scoring: Stanford -- Chioma Ubogagu (Haley Rosen), 83:26.
Records: Stanford 10-0-2, 2-0-1; Washington State 7-1-2, 2-1-0.