STANFORD, Calif. – Montana Fleming's goal with time winding down in the game lifted No. 3 UConn past No. 11 Stanford 2-1 on Friday afternoon in the Cardinal's 2016 season opener.
With less than two minutes remaining, the Huskies (1-0) were able to capitalize on their eighth penalty corner of the game. Prior to the goal, the Cardinal was flawless on the seven penalty corners the Huskies had attempted. Kelsey Bing, in her collegiate debut, showed poise in goal, making five saves on the day.
"I thought our team defended well and stuck to the game plan today," stated seventh-year head coach Tara Danielson. "It's a long season and I am looking forward to building on this performance."
The Cardinal (0-1) found itself in an early deficit as the Huskies were able to put one in by the eighth minute of action as Charlotte Veitner made a move in the circle before lobbing a shot over Kelsey Bing's shoulder to make it 1-0 UConn.
Stanford found it hard to get its offense to sync in the first half, with UConn outshooting the Cardinal 5-0 and holding a 2-0 advantage in penalty corners. In the second half, the story remained the same until the 58th minute when Sarah Helgeson sent a penalty corner in that Jessica Welch buried into the UConn goal to make it 1-1.
The Stanford defense held its own with the Huskies peppering nine shots with five on goal as Bing did work. The Cardinal struggled with penalty corners though, giving UConn six of them in the half with Casey Umstead finally setting up Montana Fleming with 1:40 remaining for the game-winner.
"It was a great game to start the 2016 season. The facility, weather and teams were top notch," added Danielson. "I couldn't ask for a better way to start the year."
The Cardinal returns to action next Friday, September 2 when it hosts No. 10 Michigan on the Varsity Turf at 2 p.m. PT. The game will be aired on Pac-12 Networks. Fans are advised that due to football, parking on campus will not be free on campus lots.
