SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Moving up from defender to start the second half at forward, freshman Lizzie Boamah scored her first career goal to hand No. 1 Stanford (8-0) a 1-0 shutout victory over No. 11 Santa Clara (6-2) from Stevens Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The goal, which came in the 55th minute, was keyed by the play of freshman Charlotte Kohler. The native of Woodside, Calif. stole the ball from a Santa Clara defender and played a pass through the Broncos’ back line where Boamah won a 50-50 ball and slotted her shot past a charging Marlee Nicolos in goal for Santa Clara.
Despite shots being even at eight apiece, Stanford held the majority of possession and had the better opportunities to score on Sunday.
Nicolos and Stanford goalkeeper Haley Craig each faced three shots on goal, with Craig making all three saves to record her fifth shutout of the season and the sixth of her career.
The top-ranked Cardinal will now prepare to begin its first ACC slate next week, traveling to Wake Forest on Thursday for a 4 p.m. kickoff.
GAME NOTES:
• Including Sunday’s 1-0 victory, nine of the last 11 matches between Stanford and Santa Clara have been decided by one goal or fewer
• The Cardinal improves to 4-0 so far this year against teams currently competing in the WCC, including victories over San Francisco, Washington State, Saint Mary’s and the 11th-ranked Broncos
• Stanford has posted a shutout in six of its first eight matches of the season and has managed a clean sheet in 26 of its last 41 contests overall
• Stanford is allowing .250 goals per match (two allowed in eight contests)
• The Cardinal is 5-0-0 in matches decided by one goal this year, including having posted four 1-0 shutouts
• Through eight matches this year, eight different Cardinal players have scored a goal, and 12 players have factored into points