STANFORD, Calif. – Senior goalkeeper Haley Craig made five saves while facing 11 total shots from former Pac-12 foe Washington State as No. 2 Stanford (5-0) blanked the Cougars (2-2) 2-0 from Cagan Stadium on Sunday.
The clean sheet was Craig’s third of the season, while the five saves are a season best.
Coming out on the attack, Stanford broke the scoreless match with a goal in the seventh minute. The tally, which came just minutes after the Cardinal had a penalty shot blocked, came from sophomore Mia Bhuta. Bhuta received a cross from Allie Montoya and chested it home for her second career goal.
Redshirt junior Andrea Kitahata did not start the match, but entered in the 29th minute and made an immediate impact, receiving a pass from Charlotte Kohler in the 32nd minute, dribbling past her defender and lacing a left-footed shot past WSU goalkeeper Nadia Cooper for her fourth goal of the year.
Kitahata has now scored in four straight matches.
Washington State managed a 13-1 advantage in corner kicks, including taking 10 in the second half alone. Sunday’s match marked the first this season that Stanford did not win the corner kick battle, but the Cardinal did well to clear its lines on set-piece chances.
Stanford will return to action on Thursday when it travels to Saint Mary’s for a 5 p.m. match. The Cardinal will then return to The Farm to host USC on Sunday at 1 p.m.
MATCH NOTES:
• The victory extended Stanford’s win streak over Washington State to five matches
• The shutout was the fourth in the first five matches this season … has managed a clean sheet in 24 of its last 38 contests overall … the lone goal allowed this year was a penalty kick at San Diego State on August 22
• Including Bhuta’s goal on Sunday, Stanford has scored four of its 10 goals in the first 10 minutes of a match this season
• The Cardinal owns a 115-5-9 record at Cagan Stadium since the start of the 2014 season
• Charlotte Kohler was credited with a pair of assists to record her first career multi-assist match … has now managed two points in three of her first five matches
• Cooper finished the match with six saves while facing 15 total shots from Stanford