STANFORD, Calif. – Despite finishing with a 24-5 advantage in shots, No. 7 Stanford (7-3-0, 1-1-0 Pac-12) suffered a 2-1 setback at the hands of Oregon State (9-1-0, 1-1-0 Pac-12) on Thursday night from Cagan Stadium.
The Cardinal had a plethora of chances throughout the match, but found itself facing a 1-0 deficit at the half thanks to a goal in the 43rd minute from Oregon State's Aaliyah Bluett. Bluett intercepted a pass near midfield in Stanford's back line and sprinted to a one-one-one chance against Katie Meyer who was forced to backpedal into the box. As the distance closed, Bluett slipped a shot past Meyer and into the back of the net for her first score of the year.
Perhaps Stanford's best opportunity of the night, the Cardinal nearly got on the board first in the 26th minute as Maya Doms provided a diving header that hit the post and stayed in play.
Stanford, which posted 12 shots in each of the halves on Thursday, continued to put pressure on Oregon State goalkeeper Bridgette Skiba in the second half, but Skiba held her ground – ultimately recording six saves in the victory.
The Beaver goalkeeper turned away another great opportunity early in the second half, this time making a save on an Andrea Kitahata shot in the 60th minute.
Sophomore Amy Sayer managed a team-high seven shots, but only one forced Skiba into a save. The Cardinal as a team managed to put just seven of its 24 shots on frame.
Capitalizing on virtually every opportunity it had on Thursday, Oregon State extended the lead to 2-0 in the 75th minute. Sophie Conrad scored on a corner kick that originated from Laura Galceran. For Conrad, the goal was her second of the season.
Needing a quick response, Stanford got just that in the 76th minute as captain Sierra Enge unleashed a shot from 22 yards out that skipped past Skiba to draw the Cardinal back within one at 2-1.
The Cardinal managed four more shots in the final 12 minutes of play, but could not find the equalizer, as Oregon State held on for the upset.
The Beavers, which had dropped 16 straight matches to the Cardinal headed into last season, have now won two of the last three in the series. Thursday's victory was also the first for Oregon State at Stanford in program history.
Stanford will look to get back on track on Sunday when it hosts Oregon at 1 p.m. to close a six-match home stand. Sunday's clash with the Ducks will be the first of two Breast Cancer Awareness matches for the Cardinal.
