BERKELEY, Calif. – No. 7 Stanford (16-2-2, 9-1-1 Pac-12) played to a 1-1 draw at California (10-4-6, 5-3-3 Pac-12) on Friday to earn sole possession of the Pac-12 championship and punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
The Pac-12 title is the 15th in program history, including the first since 2019. The championship is also the 10th in 20 seasons under Knowles Family Director of Women's Soccer Paul Ratcliffe.
Stanford, which will make its 31st NCAA Tournament appearance next week, was picked to win the Pac-12 in the annual preseason coaches poll.
While the draw with California clinched sole possession of the conference crown, Stanford played the second half of the match with at least a share of the title in hand after No. 14 USC defeated No. 1 UCLA 2-0 in Los Angeles earlier in the day.
After a scoreless first half, junior Samantha Williams put the Cardinal on top with her seventh goal of the season in the 60th minute. Williams dribbled past her defender on the right wing before sending a cross into the box where it deflected off a California defender and into the back of the net.
California's Karli Lema equalized for the Bears in the 74th minute, snapping a string of five consecutive shutouts for the Cardinal. Stanford did not allow a goal over 572:30 from a match against No. 21 Washington State on October 9 through the Cal goal on Friday.
Junior goalkeeper Ryan Campbell recorded five saves in net for the Cardinal, helping to run Stanford's unbeaten streak to 10 contests (9-0-1).
The Cardinal will now await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field on Monday at 12:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.