SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Michelle Xiao's long-range strike in the 75th minute lifted No. 2 Stanford to a 2-1 win over Santa Clara on Sunday night at Stevens Stadium.
The Cardinal (7-1-0) were held scoreless in the opening period for the first time all season, but Xiao's timely goal broke a 1-1 deadlock late in the contest. Xiao received the ball from Jaye Boissiere on the left flank, dribbling past her defender before planting a perfectly placed shot in the upper corner.
It was Xiao's second goal of the season, coming 13 minutes after the Broncos (3-5-1) equalized with a deflected free kick. Boissiere opened the scoring in the 49th minute with a tremendous strike of her own – the redshirt sophomore dribbled at the Santa Clara defense and picked out the upper far corner with a 25-yard right-footed blast.
Lauren Rood improved to 4-0-0 on the season, finishing with two saves, including one in the 59th minute to keep Stanford ahead, 1-0. Santa Clara got through on goal, but Rood was quick off her line to make an excellent stop.
75' | GOALLL!!!! Michelle Xiao plants one in the the upper 90 to put Stanford ahead, 2-1!! #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/fdmGCYf13x
— Stanford Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) September 18, 2017
Stanford outshot Santa Clara 20-6 and had several chances to score the opening goal in the first period. Alana Cook had Stanford's first chance of the game, climbing to get on the end of Kyra Carusa's cross in the eighth minute.
Andi Sullivan tested the keeper from distance several times, as did Jordan DiBiasi – Sullivan and DiBiasi each made four attempts on goal in the first half. In the 37th minute, Carusa redirected Boissiere's driven ball into the box but it was straight at the keeper.
After Boissiere's opening goal, Santa Clara equalized through a deflected free kick which left Rood with no chance. Tierna Davidson took on two attackers in the 67th minute to clear a Bronco chance, and Cook was quick to break up a dangerous counter in the 73rd minute.
Stanford survived another counter attack in the 82nd minute thanks to Kiki Pickett's recovery, and the Cardinal controlled the final five minutes to close out the win.
Stanford returns to action on Thursday when it travels to Pullman, Washington, to take on Washington State in the Pac-12 opener. The match will broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks, and live statistics will be available at GoStanford.com.
Cardinal Notes
- Boissiere's goal was her fourth in five games. Her assist on Xiao's goal was her fourth of the season.
- Santa Clara's goal was the first conceded by Rood in her career – her goals-against average stands at 0.25 for the season.
- DiBiasi led all players with six shots, while Sullivan and Carusa attempted four apiece.
- Stanford improved to 19-20-5 all-time against the Broncos.