SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Junior captain Charlotte Kohler’s goal in the 33rd minute proved to be the difference as No. 1 Stanford (1-0-0) recorded a 1-0 shutout victory at Cal Poly (1-1-0) on Sunday afternoon to open the 2026 season.
Kohler, who finished with seven shots in the contest, controlled a Cal Poly goal kick just shy of midfield, cut the ball to her left to evade a defender, and dribbled toward goal where she unleashed a left-footed shot from about 15 yards outside the goal. Her shot bent toward the back post and beat Mustang goalkeeper Shannon Porubski for the game-winner.
The Cardinal controlled the match throughout, finishing with a 17-4 advantage in shots, but Cal Poly did manage to make things interesting in the final three minutes. Having been forced into just one save over the first 87 minutes, sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Birkel saw a Madison Lujan shot sail just over the bar in the 88th minute that would have been the equalizer. Lujan was back one minute later, putting a right-footed shot on frame that required Birkel to make the save – her second and final of the afternoon.
In addition to her goal in the 33rd minute, Kohler had the second-best opportunity for the Cardinal in the 16th minute. Sophomore Brooke Holden played a ball through to Kohler who cut it back to her right and delivered a low shot to the near post. Porubski was up to the task, diving quickly to smother the chance with her fingertips and keep it scoreless to that point in the match.
Freshman Ella Kral started in her collegiate debut and played 82 minutes on the attack for the Cardinal, ultimately finishing with three shots. Fellow freshman London Young also earned the starting nod and went the full 90 minutes at centerback.
Stanford will return to The Farm this week to open the home portion of the schedule on Thursday against Georgetown. Kickoff between the Cardinal and Hoyas is set for 4 p.m.
MATCH NOTES:
- Stanford is now 14-0-0 against Cal Poly in program history … has outscored Cal Poly 37-4 over the 14 matches played and has managed 10 shutout victories ... Stanford is 4-0 in matches played at Cal Poly, and is outscoring the Mustangs 6-1
- Sunday’s 1-0 victory marked the sixth consecutive campaign that Stanford opened the year with a shutout (2-0 at Cal Poly in 2021, 5-0 vs. Sacramento State in 2022, 4-0 at San Diego in 2023, 1-0 at San Francisco in 2024 and 7-0 vs. San Francisco in 2025)
- Stanford now owns a 20-match unbeaten streak in season openers (19-0-1) dating back to 2007 ... Stanford has posted 12 shutouts over the 20-match streak ... the Cardinal has won 16 straight season openers after playing to a 1-1 draw at Boston College to start the 2010 season … Stanford is 37-4-2 all time in season openers - including 21-2-1 under Paul Ratcliffe
- Stanford has now managed a clean sheet in 42 of its last 82 contests overall
- The Cardinal is 68-8-10 over its last 86 matches
- Stanford entered the season ranked No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 2 according to TopDrawerSoccer and carried the Preseason No. 1 tag for the first time since 2018 ... is the only program to have reached the College Cup in each of the past three seasons
- In addition to London Young and Ella Kral earning the start in their collegiate debuts, freshmen Peyton Marinos, Sadie Leal-Schuman and Ale Munneke also logged their first collegiate minutes off the bench … junior Bella Winn made her Stanford debut in the 31st minute after transferring into the program from UCLA