STANFORD, Calif. - Just before the buzzer sounded, Stanford senior Areta Buness fired the potential game-tying shot.
Denver goalkeeper Carson Gregg got a piece of it, but the ball trickled behind her and inched toward the goal line. For a moment, it seemed Stanford had tied the game after a wild second-half comeback where the Cardinal had trailed 7-1 at the break and faced a three-goal deficit in the final 90 seconds.
But it was ruled the ball never crossed the goal line before the buzzer, and the 18th-ranked Cardinal fell 8-7 to the 19th-ranked Pioneers in the season-opening tilt at Cagan Stadium on Friday night.
Stanford trailed 8-5 with under 90 seconds to play, but junior captain Mikaela Watson scored her second goal of the game with 1:29 to play, and junior Ali Baiocco scored a minute later.
Buness won the ensuing draw control and the Cardinal moved quickly to get her a close-up opportunity to tie the game.
Denver built a six-goal lead in the first half, but in the second half, Stanford outscored the visitors 6-1 and held a distinctive advantage in shots, 17-8, and draw controls 6-2.
Junior Daniella McMahon scored twice in the second half, including a tally that made it 7-5 with 5:16 to go.
In her first career start, sophomore Trudie Grattan made five saves as the Pioneers scored their only goal of the second half with 2:25 remaining in the game.
McMahon and senior captain Julia Massaro led the team with five ground balls a piece, while junior Kyra Pelton finished with a team-high three caused turnovers and senior Genesis Lucero tallied a team-best three draw controls.
For the game, the Pioneers out-shot the Cardinal, 25-20, and finished with a 27-24 edge in ground balls. Stanford won 10 of 17 draw controls and caused 12 of Denver's 23 turnovers.
Stanford also lost its opener to Denver last season, but rebounded to finish with the second-most wins in school history, a Pac-12 Tournament championship and another NCAA Tournament appearance.
Stanford has a near two-week break before its second game of the season. The Cardinal will host Fresno State (Thursday, Feb. 21) and UC Davis (Sunday, Feb. 24) before the first road trip of the year at Albany (March 1) and Stony Brook (March 3).
