WASHINGTON, D.C. – No. 5 Stanford erupted for three second-half goals in an eight minute span to earn a convincing 3-0 victory Sunday at Georgetown.
Megan Turner, Jordan DiBiasi and Kyra Carusa each scored their first goals of the year, while Andi Sullivan registered an assist for the second straight game. Freshman Sam Tran contributed the first assist of her collegiate career on Stanford's second goal.
The victory caps a successful season-opening East Coast road trip for the Cardinal (2-0) after it earned a 2-1 win at Navy this past Friday.
Stanford controlled the run of play against the Hoyas (1-1) and held advantages in shots (17-5), shots on goal (8-1) and corner kicks (10-4).
Jane Campbell and Alison Jahansouz combined for Stanford's first shutout of the year in goal. Maddie Bauer and Alana Cook again showcased their dominance in the center defense, keeping Georgetown attackers away from the center of the field and eliminating potential threats in the final third.
Stanford had a strong start to the match, generating a couple quality scoring opportunities in the first 20 minutes. The Cardinal nearly got on the board in the 17th minute when Turner slipped a pass to Tran just inside the 18-yard box. Tran turned and hit a one-time shot that sailed just over the crossbar.
Michelle Xiao came on as a substitution in the 24th minute and helped spark the offense with a pair of dangerous scoring chances. Xiao fired a shot from nearly the same place she scored against Navy, from the left side of the top of the 18-yard box that forced a save by the Georgetown goalkeeper. Toward the end of the half, she took a free kick from that same spot and her shot sailed just over the crossbar.
Stanford held advantages in shots (7-2) and corners (7-2) but could not find the back of the net and went into halftime tied 0-0.
The Cardinal continued to attack in the second half and was rewarded less than three minutes into the half when Turner scored her first goal of the year to give Stanford a 1-0 lead. Sullivan received a pass at the top of the 18-yard box in the center of the field. She slipped a pass to her left where Turner was waiting to finish with a shot to the far post in the side netting.
DiBiasi doubled Stanford's lead five minutes later with her first goal of the season. Sam Tran tracked down a cross that went too long into the right corner of the field and send a cross of her own back into the box near the penalty spot. The cross took one bounce before DiBiasi came running through the box and hammered a half-volley to the back of the net.
Kyra Carusa made it 3-0 for the Cardinal in the 56th minute, capitalizing on a loose ball after a corner kick. It was Stanford's third goal in the first 11 minutes of the second half.
Stanford continued to control the pace of play the remainder of the game and utilized its bench with 21 players logging minutes to secure the victory.
The Cardinal takes on No. 7 Florida in its home-opener Friday at 8 p.m. (PT). The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.Cardinal Notes
- Stanford improved to 4-0 all-time against Georgetown.
- Andi Sullivan has registered an assist in both games this season.
- Four of Stanford's five goals this year have been scored by sophomores (Alana Cook, Michelle Xiao, Kyra Carusa, Jordan DiBiasi).
- Stanford holds advantages against opponents in goals (5-1), shots (35-7) and corners (16-4) this season.