STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford moved one step closer to repeating as NCAA champions, outlasting USC 9-8 on Saturday afternoon in an NCAA semifinal at Avery Aquatic Center.
Stanford (24-2) booked a spot in Sunday’s national final (5:30 p.m. PT) opposite UCLA (26-2). It’s a rematch of last year’s NCAA title contest, in which the Cardinal defeated the Bruins 9-5. The Cardinal, which has never finished lower than third at these NCAA Championships, has battled for the crown in the tournament’s final game every year since 2010, winning three times in that span.
Stanford and UCLA have met three times already this season, with the Cardinal handing the Bruins their only defeats, 10-6 on Feb. 1 and 8-7 on April 11. Both matches came at Avery Aquatic Center. UCLA’s victory came in overtime, 7-6, in Irvine on Feb. 22.
On Saturday, Stanford led 8-5 with 5:10 left in the third quarter, but USC (23-6) charged back in the fourth and forced the Cardinal to come up big down the stretch.
It started with 2:50 to go and the Cardinal up two (9-7) when Gabby Stone stoned a Monica Vavic backhand from point-blank range. The Trojans had back-to-back opportunities to pull closer with 1:52 on the clock, but stout Stanford defense shut the door. Hayley McKelvey took a shot which was blocked by Kiley Neushul. The deflection landed right at the hands of Vavic. The leading goal scorer in MPSF history was sent away by Steffens, who stuffed her shot and the Trojans’ momentum.
Neushul’s effort sealed the win for Stanford in front of a raucous home crowd with mere seconds to go. She fired one off the post with seven seconds remaining, but raced in to follow her shot and beat USC to the rebound, grabbing a hold of the ball and running out the clock.
Steffens scored four goals and Ashley Grossman and Jordan Raney each added a pair while Gabby Stone made nine saves in the cage.
Steffens led Stanford off with 6:29 on the clock in the first when Raney floated in a pass to the far post from 10 meters. The MPSF Player of the Year stretched high and threw it in while going under to get her team started. Moments later, Raney got a hand on an attempt from Monica Vavic, changing the shot’s trajectory and into the top corner of the cage to bring the Trojans even.
Grossman scored her first on a setup from Kiley Neushul at 5:42, catching and shooting all in one motion right in front of USC’s Victoria Chamorro. Neushul notched her own with 2:01 left in the quarter with a strong move to free herself from her defender, spinning and firing top shelf to give Stanford a 3-1 lead.
Neushul’s early score came on the heels of a pair of big Gabby Stone saves. Stanford’s junior swallow up a backhanded attempt on the doorstep by Jayde Appel. Monica Vavic nabbed the ball on the Cardinal’s next possession to set up USC with an opportunity for its second goal, but again was stalled by Stone.
Raney ended the game’s final tie with 5:43 to go in the second quarter. The MPSF Newcomer of the Year put home her first after Steffens cycled it through in the 6-on-5 following Briana Daboub’s second exclusion. Stanford was up 5-4 at the break thanks to Steffens’ second of the day in another man-up situation. Anna Yelizarova handled it near side and lofted a cross-cage pass to Steffens who skipped it in (2:40).
Another three-goal outburst came for Stanford in the third. Steffens worked inside on her defender at the top, drew a foul, rose and fired at 7:29. At 6:10 Raney handled it in the corner and passed it out to Jamie Neushul. Stanford circled the ball around the pool from Neushul to older sister Kiley and then to Gurpreet Sohi, who fed Raney cross-pool so the freshman could beat Chamorro near-side top corner in the 6-on-5 (6:10).
Raney connected with Ashley Grossman to hand Stanford its biggest lead with 5:10 to go in the third, 8-5. The freshman dropped it low to the senior, who corralled the pass with a defender draped all over her and scored.
Grossman was drawing exclusions all afternoon and earned a penalty with 6:44 left when she worked inside and was pulled from behind by Ioanna Haralabidis. Steffens took the five-meter penalty and skipped it to the left for the Cardinal’s ninth and final goal.
No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 3 USC
May 9, 2015 • Stanford, Calif.
USC 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 = 8
STAN 3 – 2 – 3– 1 = 9
USC Goals: Brigitta Games 2, Monica Vavic 2, Hayley McKelvey, Eike Daube, Stephania Haralabidis, Briana Daboub
USC Saves: Victoria Chamorro 7
Stanford Goals: Maggie Steffens 4, Jordan Raney 2, Ashley Grossman 2, Kiley Neushul
Stanford Saves: Gabby Stone 9