STANFORD, Calif. – Trailing 2-0 through the first 64 minutes, No. 14 Stanford (13-4-1, 5-4-1 ACC) clawed back even against California (12-5-2, 5-4-1 ACC) with goals in the 66th and 71st minutes only to have a point ripped from its grasp on a penalty kick in the 90th minute to hand the Bears a 3-2 victory on Thursday from Cagan Stadium.
With the clock ticking down on the Halloween clash, Karlie Lema moved her way toward the end line on the right side of Cal’s attack and sent a ball across the goal where Shae Harvey kicked to try to clear the ball out of danger, but the center referee Brandon Gardner ruled it a dangerous play, issued the penalty, and showed Harvey a yellow card.
Lema stepped to the spot and had her shot blocked by senior goalkeeper Haley Craig, but Courtney Boone was quick to pounce on the rebound and put it back with seven seconds left on the clock for the game-winner.
Craig, who was honored prior to the match alongside fellow seniors Nya Harrison, Avani Brandt, Andrea Kitahata and Kellie Pagador, ultimately made two saves in the setback.
The Golden Bears caught a bit of a break en route to taking the 1-0 lead in the 34th minute as Campbell Carroll lofted a ball toward the goal from distance. The ball kept drifting toward the crossbar, forcing Craig to make a play on the shot, but her attempted tip resulted in the ball dipping just below the bar and into the back of the net.
After taking the 1-0 lead into the break, the Golden Bears doubled their lead with a tally in the 64th minute as Julia Leontini played a ball onto the foot of Velize King who sent a perfect pass into the box to Alexis Wright. Wright was running stride-for-stride with her defender and one-timed her shot past Craig for her fourth goal of the year.
Leontini was making her return to The Farm after spending the last four seasons with the Cardinal and graduating in 2023.
The Cardinal was quick to respond, drawing a penalty kick when Lema was whistled for a hand ball in the box. Kitahata stepped to the spot and buried her shot for her team-best seventh goal of the year.
Picking a memorable time for her third career goal, Harrison celebrated a senior night goal in the 71st minute as she ran onto a cross from Kitahata and hammered her shot into the back of the net for the equalizer.
Having completed the comeback, Stanford seemed poised to nab a well-earned point, but Boone and the Golden Bears had other ideas for the final regular-season match of the year in Stanford’s first season in the ACC.
The Cardinal, which entered the match with the eighth-best RPI in the country, will now await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field on November 11 at 1 p.m. on NCAA.com.