In the second round of the NCAA tournament Thursday night, No. 5 Stanford women’s soccer team (17-2-1, 10-0-1) earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory against No. 19 BYU (16-2-2, 7-1-1 West Coast).

 

Though both teams showed flashes of impressive play, the night eventually belonged to freshman midfielder Jordan DiBiasi, who scored both goals for Stanford. While her first was a stunner to the top far post off a turn at the top of the penalty box, her second goal is what put the Cardinal over the edge and into the next round.

“Jordan has been phenomenal all year and just consistent,” coach Paul Ratcliffe said. “I’m so happy to see her getting a big reward and getting critical goals for us.”

The Cougars remained resilient throughout the game, exchanging attacks with the Cardinal and combining well on offense. After DiBiasi’s first goal, the Cougars pushed back and put the normally stout Cardinal defense on its heels. The Cougars only took one minute into the second half to transfer that momentum into a goal-scoring opportunity, a penalty kick that Bizzy Phillips converted to equal the score.

While holding the advantage in both shots on goal and corners, Stanford just couldn’t find the capability to control the game on both sides of the ball. Even though substitutions added depth and energy, the Cardinal team that has been so suffocating became a bit exposed.

Ultimately, the game came down to the Stanford strength and grit throughout the game. The Cardinal were tested by an under-ranked BYU team, but eventually came out as victors, living to fight another day.

“I credit the players. I think they’re resilient, they’re competitive and they’re winners. That’s a really strong sign going forward,” Ratcliffe said.

 

Contact Lorenzo Rosas at enzor9 ‘at’ stanford.edu.