STANFORD, Calif. – Hosting No. 1 Duke on Thursday in its annual Pink Match, No. 7 Stanford (11-2-1, 3-2-1) suffered a 4-1 loss to the Blue Devils (10-1-0, 5-0-0) from Cagan Stadium.
The loss snapped a string of 34 consecutive matches without a defeat at home for Stanford (32-0-2) dating back to October 3, 2021.
The Cardinal found itself in an early hole after allowing a pair of goals in the first five minutes. Duke’s Maggie Graham scored both goals as part of a hat trick while adding a third tally in the 67th minute to cap the scoring.
Graham’s goal in the fourth minute opened the scoring before Stanford made an errant pass in its defensive end that was picked off by Graham and netted just 14 seconds later.
Chasing two early goals, the Cardinal settled in toward the end of the first half, including scoring its lone goal on a beautiful header from Shae Harvey in the 34th minute. Harvey, who collected her second goal of the year, flicked her shot on goal on a ball played in by freshman Eleanor Klinger.
The Cardinal came out strong in the second half, creating several quality chances, but Duke goalkeeper Leah Freeman was consistently up to the challenge. Freeman ultimately finished the match with a season-best seven saves – including making a pair on a penalty kick opportunity from Klinger and one from point-blank range in the 61st minute off the foot of Allie Montoya. The latter stop came as Stanford look to immediately answer a Duke goal from Devin Lynch in that same minute.
Stanford goalkeeper Haley Craig was credited with two saves, while the Cardinal managed a 16-13 advantage in shots.
Stanford will look to rebound on Sunday when it hosts No. 2 North Carolina at 1 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
• The four goals are the most allowed by Stanford this season and the most allowed by the Cardinal since dropping the 2023 national title match to then-No. 1 Florida State by a count of 5-1 on December 4, 2023
• The home loss was the first for Stanford since a 2-1 setback at the hands of Oregon State on September 30, 2021
• In addition to playing to a 16-13 advantage in shots, Stanford also took six corner kicks while conceding three