DALLAS – Playing on the road at SMU on Friday afternoon, No. 6 Stanford could not convert its chances en route to settling for a scoreless draw and a single point in the ACC standings.
The Cardinal is now 7-2-2 on the season, including 1-2-1 in the conference. SMU moves to 5-3-3 overall, and 0-2-1 in the ACC following the draw.
Aubrey Brown was outstanding on Friday in goal for the Mustangs, making nine saves to ensure the clean sheet. Brown was especially impressive in the second half, tallying six of her nine saves.
Sophomore Caroline Birkel also impressed in a clean sheet of her own for the Cardinal, compiling four saves.
Stanford controlled play early in the first half, eventually playing to a 10-6 advantage in shots, but SMU managed to shift momentum considerably in the latter half of the first 45 minutes to ensure that the teams went to the locker rooms even.
The Cardinal came out strong in the second half, posting a 16-4 advantage in shots, but was unable to find the back of the net despite several quality chances.
Senior Mia Bhuta delivered a shot in the 54th minute that required a diving stop from Brown, and the putback from Jaden Thomas at the back post sailed wide. Thomas was making her return to Dallas after prepping at The Hockaday School.
The Cardinal earned a corner kick opportunity in the 68th minute, but Brown was once again there to turn away a shot from freshman Peyton Marinos following a scramble in front of the net.
Freshman Ella Kral hit the crossbar in the 76th minute before sophomore Brooke Holden had an open look at goal only to sail her shot high over the bar one minute later.
Kral once again had a golden opportunity at the breakthrough in the 86th minute, but she was stuffed by Brown in a 1-on-1 situation just in front of net.
The Cardinal is off from competition next week, returning to the pitch on Thursday, October 8 at Syracuse for a 4 p.m. PT match.
MATCH NOTES:
- Stanford is now 5-2-1 all-time against SMU and 2-0-1 as members of the ACC … recorded a 26-10 advantage in shots and a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks … has been shut out in three of its last four matches
- Caroline Birkel has not allowed a goal this season, recording four shutouts to run her career total to seven