STANFORD, Calif. – Jordan DiBiasi scored her third game-winning goal of the season Thursday night to lift No. 4 Stanford to a 1-0 victory against No. 16 USC, clinching at least a share of the Pac-12 title for the Cardinal.
It is the 10th Pac-12 title in Stanford program history.
DiBiasi made a near-post run inside the 18-yard box while Haley Rosen was holding the ball near the endline and fending off a Trojan defender. Rosen was able to create enough space to slip a pass to DiBiasi who let the ball run through her legs and tapped it past USC's goalkeeper with the back of her right heel.
"It was a phenomenal goal by Jordan," said Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe. "I can't say enough about her to score a goal like that under pressure was truly remarkable. It was an incredible goal and the freshmen have stepped up the entire season, scoring so many goals for us and been a big part of our success."
While the freshmen have had a significant impact on the season, fifth-year senior Rosen has been outstanding and contributed the dirty work needed to create the opportunity on Stanford's conference-championship clinching goal. She leads the Cardinal with 15 points, five assists and is tied for the team-lead in goals with five.
"Haley played an amazing ball in and I was just lucky to get on the end of it," said DiBiasi. "She really leads our team by example. She sets the standard and everyone looks up to her."
After a back-and-forth first half of action, Stanford (15-2, 7-2 Pac-12) found its groove in the second half, maintaining a majority of the possession and outshooting USC (12-5-1, 7-2 Pac-12) by a margin of 12-4. The Cardinal finished the game with advantages in shots (19-7) and corner kicks (6-3). Nine different Stanford players registered at least one shot.
Stanford's defense had a strong performance, limiting USC to three shots on goal and keeping the Trojans out of the 18-yard box. Jane Campbell, the reigning Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week, made three saves to earn her seventh shutout of the year and 27th of her career, tying her with Emily Oliver ('13) for fifth in program history.
Campbell made a crucial save in the 26th minute to keep the score at 0-0 when USC got behind Stanford's backline and into the penalty box. Campbell came racing off her line to stop a breakaway shot by the Trojans' Jamie Fink.
Alana Cook and Maddie Bauer were impressive in the centerback positions, routinely halting USC's attack and holding possession to help generate Stanford's offense. Laura Liedle, Stephanie Amack and Tegan McGrady did well at the outside back positions to limit the impact of the Trojans' speedy attackers, while also finding opportunities to make runs forward and get involved in the offense.
Amack nearly gave Stanford the lead in the first half when she fired a low shot off the left post in the 33rd minute.
Despite the numerous opportunities, it took a special effort by DiBiasi to lock up the victory. Rosen contributed an assist on the goal – her fifth of the season. Rosen has recorded at least one point in each of the past three games and has six points over that span.
Ratcliffe hopes the experience of Thursday's high-pressure matchup helps prepare his team for the postseason.
"We knew we had to win this game to clinch the Pac-12 championship so that pressure is good to feel now and break through and win that game," he said. "When you get to the playoffs, all the games are like this. Win and move on, or lose and go home. I want them to feel that because some of the players are younger and it's good to get a taste of it."
Stanford will face another challenging matchup as it tries to claim the Pac-12 title outright on Sunday when it plays host to UCLA at 3:30 p.m. (PT). Tickets are still available for Sunday's match.
Cardinal Notes
- Stanford claimed at least a share of the Pac-12 title, the 10th conference championship in program history.
- The Cardinal needs one more point over the final two games to claim the title outright.
- Stanford improved to 17-4-3 all-time against USC and is 7-1 in its previous eight meetings.
- Jordan DiBiasi has three goals in her freshman campaign – all three have been game-winners.
- Underclassmen have accounted for 23 of Stanford's 32 goals this season (72 percent). Freshmen lead the team with 13 goals, followed by the sophomores (10), seniors (5) and juniors (4).
- Haley Rosen has recorded at least point in three consecutive games and has six points during that span.
- Jane Campbell registered her seventh shutout of the season and 27th of her career to tie Emily Oliver ('13) for fifth in program history.
- The Cardinal has shut out nine of its 17 opponents this season.
- Stanford improved to 11-0-0 when scoring first this season.