PITTSBURGH – No. 3 Stanford completed a two-match road trip to start ACC play on Sunday, rolling past Pitt (4-4-2) 6-0 to improve to 7-1-1 on the year and 1-0-1 in the conference.
The Cardinal wasted no time getting on the board on Sunday as sophomore Eleanor Klinger scored just 39 seconds into the match. The play developed quickly as Jasmine Aikey sent a pass back to Sammy Smith on the right side of the attack where she sent a cross to the foot of Klinger for the tap-in at the near post.
Joelle Jung made it 2-0 in the 13th minute, lacing a shot from outside the penalty area for her third goal of the year. Andrea Kitahata was credited with the assist on the play – the first of two assists for the redshirt senior.
Kitahata added her second assist in the 33rd minute, dribbling down the left side of the pitch and sending a cross into the box for Allie Montoya. The senior allowed the ball to bounce once before one-timing her right-footed shot into the net for her fifth goal of the year.
Having already assisted on a pair of goals, Kitahata inked her name into the goal column in the 60th minute following a barrage of shots from the Cardinal. Charlotte Kohler pinged her first offering off the cross bar before Kitahata put her first shot on frame for a goalkeeper save. Kohler’s follow was also knocked away, but Kitahata was there once more for the putback and the goal.
The Cardinal put the finishing touches on the rout late in the match as Elise Evans scored her third goal of the season on a Cardinal corner kick in the 80th minute before freshman Brooke Holden notched her fourth goal of the year in the 86th.
All three Stanford goalkeepers recorded minutes in the combined shutout, with freshman Caroline Birkel working the first 67 minutes before being replaced by Kaiya Jota in the 68th minute. Jota was then replaced by Alyssa Savig with a little over seven minutes left in the match. None of the trio were tested in the victory as Stanford outshot Pitt 31-4 and held the Panthers without a shot on frame.
Stanford will take next week off from competition, returning home to host Boston College on Thursday, September 25 at 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
- Klinger’s goal in the 39th second was the fastest goal for the Cardinal since Christen Press scored in 23 seconds against BYU on November 14, 2009
- Sunday’s victory was No. 399 in Paul Ratcliffe’s head coaching career at Stanford
- The Cardinal has scored at least three goals in seven of the first nine matches of the year and has reached the five-goal plateau five times … scored at least six goals for the third time this season … 38 combined goals over the nine matches are the most since scoring 41 in the first nine of 2017 … has scored more goals this season (38) through nine matches than it did throughout the 2024 season (35 goals in 23 matches)
- Stanford is averaging 25.11 shots per game, having posted at least 20 in seven of the first nine matches
- The Cardinal is 53-7-9 over its last 69 matches
- Stanford has conceded just seven goals so far this season, has posted four shutouts, and has managed a clean sheet in 36 of its last 65 contests overall
- Jasmine Aikey has contributed at least a point in seven of the first nine matches this season … leads the team in total points with 16 (team-high seven goals and two assists) … has scored in back-to-back matches
- Andrea Kitahata contributed at least one point in each of the first six matches this season and has a point in eight of the nine on the year ... has scored in back-to-back matches … leads the team in points with 16 (five goals and six assists) … recorded her sixth career game with at least one goal and an assist, and her fourth career multi-assist match
- Charlotte Kohler has contributed at least a point in six of the first nine matches this season
- Allie Montoya scored in each of Stanford's first four matches, and has contributed at least one point in seven of the first nine contests this year ... has scored five goals and added four assists to manage 14 points