STANFORD, Calif. – Opening the 2023 NCAA Tournament on Friday against Pepperdine, No. 3 Stanford (16-0-4) turned in an all-around strong performance en route to a 3-0 shutout victory over the Waves (9-5-5) from Cagan Stadium.
The Cardinal, a No. 2 seed in the tournament, received goals from Jasmine Aikey, Kennedy Wesley and Andrea Kitahata, while senior Ryan Campbell notched her eighth shutout of the season while making four saves.
Aikey, who had four goals in the opening round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament as a freshman, got the scoring started in the 32nd minute as she received a pass from Joelle Jung near the top of the box and bent a shot to the back post where it beat Pepperdine goalkeeper Taylor Rath.
The goal was Aikey's team-leading 11th of the season and her sixth career postseason score.
Carrying a 1-0 lead into the second half, Stanford quickly doubled the advantage as Allie Montoya played a short corner to Aikey who then sent a cross into the box. The ball skipped around dangerously, eventually settling at the foot of Wesley who laced a shot off the near post, and then off the back of Rath, before trickling into the net. The goal was Wesley's fourth of the season as the center back has also contributed five assists for 13 points.
Putting the finishing touches on the scoring, Shae Harvey intercepted a Wave pass in their defensive end and quickly played the ball on to Kitahata. Sprinting into the box, Kitahata took one touch forward and powered her shot to the near post and in for the third Stanford goal of the night. The goal ran Kitahata's season total to seven.
Stanford finished the match with a 16-8 advantage in shots and a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks – with all five corners coming in the second half.
Rath was credited with four saves in goal for Pepperdine.
With the victory, Stanford advances to host No. 7 seed South Carolina in the second round on Friday, November 17 at 6 p.m. from Cagan Stadium. With top-seeded UCLA dropping a match to UC Irvine on Friday night, Stanford is now in line to host through the quarterfinal round of the tournament.
GAME NOTES
- The Cardinal is making its 32nd NCAA Tournament appearance, including its 25th in the last 26 seasons
- With Friday's win, Stanford has reached the second round in 25 of the 32 appearances
- The Cardinal has compiled a 66-23-8 record in NCAA Tournament play
- Stanford is 53-4-5 all-time in postseason games hosted on The Farm, and has won 13 straight (last loss: 1-0 (2OT) vs. Santa Clara on November 18, 2016) ... is 41-1-2 over the last 44 postseason home games dating back to 2008
- Stanford opened the NCAA Tournament at home for the 22nd time in program history ... hosted the first round in 13 straight seasons from 2007-19 ... is now a perfect 21-0-0 in first-round matches played at home (received a first-round bye in 1999)
- Stanford has allowed one goal or fewer in 32 straight matches dating back to Sept. 29, 2022 at USC
- Stanford is unbeaten in 26 straight home matches at Cagan Stadium dating back to October 3, 2021
- Stanford owns a 110-5-9 record at Cagan Stadium since the start of the 2014 season
- Stanford has now posted 11 shutouts this year
- Now 16-0-4 to start the season, and with the 2022 campaign coming to an end via a penalty kick shootout, the Cardinal is unbeaten in its last 32 matches (26-0-6) and has posted 17 shutouts in the last 28 contests
- Stanford has scored three-plus goals in nine of 20 matches, topping out at four on four occasions
- The Cardinal has played to a 384-182 advantage in shots and has outscored the opposition 45-9
- Jasmine Aikey has scored in nine of 20 matches this year, and after scoring in the final two last year, has scored in 11 of her last 22 ... owns 16 goals in those 22 matches ... has contributed a point in 13 of the 20 matches this season, and has scored in five of the last 11 ... Aikey has scored six postseason goals in three career NCAA Tournament matches
- The shutout was Campbell's 16th of her career – moving her into a tie with Erica Holland for 10th-most in Stanford history
- Andrea Kitahata has scored in seven of the 20 matches this year, including three of the last eight