STANFORD, Calif. – No. 2 Stanford improved to 4-0-0 against ranked opponents in 2019 with a dominant 5-0 win over No. 14 Washington State on Thursday night at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
"It was a great team performance against a really strong opponent," said the Knowles Family Director of Women's Soccer Paul Ratcliffe. "We haven't had the pleasure of playing in front of our home fans in quite some time, so we were thrilled to give them this result."
Catarina Macario led the Cardinal (9-1-0, 2-0-0 Pac-12) with two goals and two assists while Sophia Smith and Madison Haley finished with one goal and one assist apiece. Katie Meyer made one save to earn the shutout and Stanford limited the Cougars (8-2-0, 1-1-0 Pac-12) to just six shots – Washington State entered the match averaging 21.33 shots per game, third-most in the nation.
Teamwork makes the dream work ?? #GoStanford
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Stanford went into the halftime break with a two-goal cushion with first-half strikes off the feet of Smith and Macario. Smith finished a brilliant team move by Stanford in the 23rd minute with Macario and Haley at the heart of the buildup. Haley provided the final ball, releasing Smith into space before Smith rounded the goalkeeper and planted it in the back of the net to put Stanford ahead, 1-0.
With seconds remaining in the half, Stanford won a penalty kick as Beattie Goad picked out the run of Belle Briede, who was taken down by the goalkeeper in the penalty area. Macario stepped up and buried the penalty kick to double the lead.
Haley needed just 17 seconds in the second half to make it 3-0. Macario nodded a header to the foot of Smith, who played Haley through on goal before a composed finish inside the far post. In the 71st minute, Macario secured her brace to push the lead to four. Kiki Pickett played a long ball to the head of Macario, who nodded the ball around her defender before finishing from close range. An own goal in the 82nd minute made it 5-0, pushing Stanford's unbeaten streak at home to 32 games.
No. 2 Stanford returns to action on Sunday when it plays host to Washington at 3 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks. Following visits to Oregon State (Oct. 10) and Oregon (Oct. 13), the Cardinal plays host to UCLA on Oct. 19. All of Stanford's remaining regular-season contests will air on Pac-12 Networks.
Cardinal Notes
- Stanford's unbeaten streak in Pac-12 play extends to 31 games with its last defeat in conference action coming on Oct. 6, 2016.
- Stanford's unbeaten streak at home stands at 32 games with its last home loss coming on Nov. 18, 2016.
- It was Macario's seventh game of the season with three or more points and sixth with two or more goals. She has scored at least 14 goals and had at least eight assists in each of her three seasons at Stanford.
- Macario's 123 career points rank eighth in program history. Her 45 goals rank eighth while her 33 assists move her into a tie for sixth with Julie Foudy.
- The shutout was Stanford's fourth of the season.