ANNAPOLIS, Md. – No. 5 Stanford cruised to a convincing 2-1 season-opening victory at Navy on Friday night.
Alana Cook and Michelle Xiao scored for the Cardinal (1-0) as it outshot the Mids 18-3, including a 7-1 shots on goal advantage, and earned six corner kicks while not permitting one defensively.
Stanford was comfortably in front of Navy (0-1) through 77 minutes with a 2-0 advantage but a failed Cardinal defensive clearance deep in its own zone led to a goal for the Mids. Despite its lead being cut in half to 2-1, Stanford controlled a majority of the possession for the remainder of the game and secured the victory.
It was a quiet night in net for Jane Campbell who saw three shots with just one on frame. Stanford's back line, anchored by Maddie Bauer and Alana Cook, played well and regularly stopped Navy's attack high in its defensive half.
Stanford dominated the run of play in the first half, holding advantages in shots (11-1) and corner kicks (4-0).
The Cardinal's best opportunity of the half came in the 41st minute when Andi Sullivan evaded a defender in the midfield, dribbled to the top of the 18-yard box and fired a right-footed shot to the left side of the goal. Navy's goalkeeper, Dayton Wetherby, did well to cover the near post and push away the shot for a corner kick.
Stanford continued to pressure early in the second half and broke through in the 54th minute when it earned a corner kick after Kyra Carusa rifled a shot from 20 yards out that forced Wetherby to make a save.
Sullivan served in a high cross that Cook ran onto from about 12 yards out and headed the ball into the ground, bouncing her shot over the goalkeeper and the defender guarding the far post and into the goal.
The Cardinal doubled its lead to 2-0 in the 77th minute on a goal by Xiao. She received a pass in the offensive zone near the left sideline, cut between two defenders to the middle of the field and hit a shot from about 18 yards out to the far post.
Navy cut the lead back to one less than a minute later after a failed Stanford defensive clearance. The Mids stole the ball near the sideline and sent a cross into the box that found the foot of Cadie Higginson who was able to get just enough on her shot to get it past Campbell.
Stanford wraps up its season-opening road trip Sunday at 9 a.m. (PT) when it travels to Georgetown.Cardinal Notes
- Stanford improves to 3-0 all-time against Navy.
- Stanford has won its season-opener by one goal in each of the past four years, and by a score of 2-1 in three of the past four years.
- Andi Sullivan and Alana Cook registered points in the season opener for the second consecutive year.
- Stanford has outshot opponents in 16 consecutive games, dating back to Sept. 25, 2016, at Utah.