"Florida State is an amazing team and I thought we did a good job of limiting their opportunities by keeping possession," said head coach Paul Ratcliffe. "I'm always looking for work ethic, and I thought we showed great character to see out this win."
Jordan DiBiasi netted her fifth game-winning goal of the season and Alison Jahansouz earned her 10th shutout for the Cardinal (21-1-0, 11-0-0 Pac-12).
With Florida State threatening Stanford's penalty area in the 79th minute, Tierna Davidson stepped up to win the ball and embarked on a run from penalty area to penalty area. After beating four Seminoles, she squared to the arriving DiBiasi in the box. DiBiasi's first touch set her up for a precise finish inside the far post, good for her seventh tally of the season.
Death, taxes & @DiBiasiJordan scoring big, big goals (with a little help from @tierna_davidson). ?? #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/17b5MH5UXy
— Stanford Women's Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) November 20, 2017
Stanford's first scoring chance came in the 14th minute when Catarina Macario found space down the right wing on the counter. She squared to Andi Sullivan at the top of the box, and Sullivan's driven attempt sailed just wide.
In the 20th minute, Macario's shot from close range was palmed away by Cassie Miller, who finished with seven saves. Stanford entered halftime tied at 0-0, outshooting the Seminoles (13-7-1, 5-4-1 ACC) 9-1 at the break.
Just after halftime, Macario rattled the post on the counter attack before forcing another fine save by Miller in the 56th minute. Kiki Pickett, who was excellent at right back in both defense and attack, nearly put Kyra Carusa through on goal in the 67th minute, but Stanford continued to be stymied in the final third.
The Cardinal got its breakthrough in the 79th minute when DiBiasi netted her 11th career game winner. After the goal, Stanford absorbed pressure for the final 10 minutes, nearly bagging a second goal several times with the Noles opened up. In the final minute, Pickett cleared Florida State's most dangerous chance of the sequence to seal progression to the quarterfinals.
Stanford returns to action on Friday at 2 p.m. PT when it hosts No. 10 Penn State in the NCAA quarterfinal. Tickets are now on sale at GoStanford.com.
Cardinal Notes
- Eleven of Jordan DiBiasi's 19 career goals are game winners – her five game winners in 2017 leads the team.
- Macario registered eight shots in the contest, giving her 124 on the season, which ties with Lindsay Taylor (2011) for fifth on the all-time list.
- Jahansouz is one clean sheet away from entering the single-season top 10.
- Davidson's assist was her sixth of the season – she was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year after the regular season.
- The win was the 40th postseason win for Paul Ratcliffe – his playoff record stands at 40-11-4.
- Stanford extended its win streak to 19 games, dating back to Sept. 1.
- The Cardinal improves to 13-0-0 at home -- Stanford is outscoring opponents 57-1 at Cagan Stadium.
- With a win over Penn State, Stanford would advance to its eighth College Cup and seventh under Ratcliffe.
- Penn State advanced on Sunday with a 3-1 win at No. 7 West Virginia – Stanford is 2-1-0, all-time against the Nittany Lions.
- Since a 2-0 loss against Penn State on Sept. 11, 2015, Stanford is 30-0-2 at home.