Led by a pair of goals from junior forward Michelle Xiao, second-ranked Stanford women’s soccer (10-1-0, Pac-12 3-0-0) defeated Arizona State (4-5-1, 1-1-1) at home this Sunday. Posting their eighth shutout of the season in a 6-0 win, the Cardinal outshot the Sun Devils 30-2 during the game.

In a game that was all-Stanford, freshman forward Catarina Macario was the first to score for the Cardinal, converting a feed from sophomore midfielder Jaye Boissiere. Boissiere would go on to assist the Cardinal’s second goal four minutes later, passing the ball to Xiao on the left side, who was able to find junior midfielder Jordan DiBiasi for the bottom-right-corner finish.

Junior forward Kyra Carussa also chipped in with a score, this one off a penalty obtained by Xiao at the 17th minute. With a 3-0 lead at the break, the game seemed already in the pocket for the Cardinal, who hadn’t allowed a single shot by the Arizona State offense.

Coming back from the break, Xiao scored her first goal of the game on a deflection, as a free-kick from Macario hit the right post. After bringing the tally to 4-0, Xiao did not relent as she hit the crossbar three minutes later, before scoring once more on a cross form Macario to increase the already insurmountable lead.

Junior Mariah Lee added one last goal for Stanford after stealing the ball near the Arizona penalty area. The forward slipped the ball past Arizona State’s keeper Nikki Panas for her fourth score of the season.

Although the Cardinal did not score after the 68th minute, the defense did not weaken as Arizona State was only able to register its first shot of the game in the 88th minute, and finished with no shots on target.

The win puts the Cardinal’s streak at eight, while Stanford remains undefeated at home. After playing six games on the Farm, the Cardinal have yet to concede a goal on their home field, while posting an average of 5.5 goals per game.The team will next head to Salt Lake City to take on No. 24 Utah this Thursday. The Cardinal will then continue their journey in Colorado to face the Buffaloes on Sunday.

 

Contact Alexandre Bucquet at bucqueta ‘at’ stanford.edu.