On Friday, December 1st at 5:30 PM PT on ESPNU and KZSU radio, (2) Stanford women’s soccer will take on (1) BYU in the College Cup, which is the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. Stanford advanced to the College Cup following a 2-1 overtime victory over (5) Nebraska on The Farm.
BOX SCORE: Nebraska at Stanford-Friday, November 24th
Last time out: Stanford had a thrilling 2-1 victory over Nebraska in overtime on Friday, November 24th. The match was played on The Farm at Cagan Stadium.
“The team showed tremendous character against a very tough and resilient team in Nebraska,” Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe said after the match. “And happy we got the result. Ultimately, going to the College Cup is a huge honor and there was a lot of pressure on the team. I thought they dealt with it really well and came through.”
Joelle Jung scored for Stanford at 10:29, finding the bottom center of the goal off her right foot. That gave the Cardinal a 1-0 lead.
Stanford would have corner kicks at 11:24 and 21:09, unable to tack on a second goal. Nebraska in turn had a corner kick at 26:36. They weren’t able to score off that. Stanford’s Jasmine Aikey did fire a good shot at 44:58 that was saved by Nebraska goalkeeper Samantha Hauk. That kept it a 1-0 at halftime.
The second half went on for quite a while before Nebraska tied it up. Nebraska had a corner kick at 49:00, unable to score off that opportunity. At 57:47, Eleanor Dale fired a shot to the bottom center of the net that was saved by Stanford goalkeeper Ryan Campbell. Nebraska was starting to find a bit of a groove. At least getting a good look at the net.
Stanford would get a corner kick at 70:54 but wasn’t able score off that opportunity. Shortly thereafter, Allie Montoya got called for a yellow card after fouling Dale. Nebraska wasn’t able to capitalize. At 76:38, Nebraska had a corner kick while at 78:54, Stanford had a corner kick. Neither team would score off that chance though at 79:42, Andrea Kitahata fired a shot for Stanford at the bottom center of the net that was saved by Hauk.
At this point, it looked like this match was heading for a 1-0 Stanford victory. However, Nebraska did eventually find a way to score in the 11th hour. At 86:41, Joelle Jung fouled Haley Peterson, resulting in a free kick for the Cornhuskers. As a result of that free kick, the Cornhuskers were able to set up a goal to tie up the match as Sarah Weber found the top center of the goal off an assist from Lauryn Anglim & Jordan Zade. That came at 86:59. With only three minutes to spare, it was 1-1. Nebraska and their fans erupted in joy at the sight of the ball falling into the net while Stanford and their fans let out a loud groan. It was clear this baby was heading into overtime.
“Unfortunately, it was just a long set play,” Ratcliffe lamented of Nebraska’s goal. “Booted into the box and Ryan decided to come for it. Maybe she should have stayed and didn’t get to it and then it hits I think maybe one of their players flicked it or somehow it hit and it just went over and in. So, it was one of those things.”
Stanford got a corner kick at 87:31 while Dale fired one more shot for Nebraska at 89:38, but Campbell got the save for Stanford. 1-1. Overtime.
Stanford quickly scored in overtime as Maya Doms found the bottom center of the goal off her right foot at the 94:10 mark courtesy of an assist from Montoya and Aikey. There is no golden goal in NCAA tournament soccer, which means even if a team scores, they still have to play overtime out.
“Yeah, I mean, we knew we had to put it all out there the last minutes,” Doms said of her goal. “We didn’t want to go to PKs. So, we tried to trust everyone. Allie played a really good ball, Jazz made a good front post run and let it go, and I just did the easy thing and tapped it in. So, my teammates did the hard work and I was just in the right place at the right time.
“Yeah, honestly, that was one of my best moments here on this field. Even though it wasn’t like a golazo or like the best or the prettiest goal I’ve scored, just when it matters the most, it doesn’t matter how you score and just knowing that it was a team goal. It wasn’t just like me dribbling. It was like a cross and then someone making an unselfish run and finishing. And then, yeah I just pulled something out. I didn’t know what I was going to do with my celebration, but it was really fun.”
“So we got behind them, a great cross, it was Allie Montoya, sent in a good cross,” Ratcliffe said of the game-winning goal. “Jasmine Aikey cleared the space and I think Doms came in behind and just tucked it in. So, a really good goal.”
After the first overtime ended, they played a second overtime, but neither team scored in that period. 2-1 Stanford would be the final score. Stanford escaped with a win, advancing to the College Cup for the first time since 2019.
“Yeah, they showed, that’s what I spoke to them about after is I was proud of the character,” Ratcliffe said of how his team responded from giving up a late goal. “Because you concede with three minutes left before you go to the College Cup, that’s kinda devastating. So they dealt with it well and they kept fighting and got a great goal to win the game. So I was really proud of how they dealt with that conceding.”
“Well, we knew we could win,” Montoya added. “We just had to play our game and I think we did a good job just like showing everyone who we are and we just kept on fighting ‘til the very end and we put it away…Well, we were all tired, but I had no doubt that we were going to win and you know, we just came through and we fought and we all believed in each other and we did it.”
For Nebraska, this was a heartbreaking loss, but hats off to them for getting as far as they did and making Stanford beat them in overtime. They could have folded their tent at the end, but they played the full 90 minutes and got rewarded with extra time as a result.
As for Stanford, what an emotional win. Getting back to the College Cup is a huge deal. It shows the program is back to where they think they should be. After Nebraska tied things up, they too could have withered away, but like championship teams do, they found a way to rise to the occasion and finish the job.
“Our hard work over the summer obviously, our whole team came in really fit,” Doms said of the key to winning in overtime. “And as the season goes on, we just keep getting more fit and more fit. So, obviously being fit and then I think the last few weeks we’ve just been very close as a team. We’ve done a lot of events and a lot of; we’ve just been together this whole time. So just being really close at the right time at the end of the season has been key and just really trusting each other and being there for each other.”
On BYU: Last season, BYU knocked Stanford out of the NCAA tournament with a win that went into penalty kicks. These teams know each other well. In their most recent match, BYU came back from 0-3 down to defeat North Carolina 4-3 in regulation. They didn’t even need overtime. On a cold snowy night in Provo, the Cougars found the Holy Grail as they stunned the Tarheels, leaving them to die on the vine in the final minute. The most amazing part of the comeback was BYU didn’t score until there was less than 30 minutes to go in the match. An absolutely phenomenal comeback by them and a total collapse by UNC.
Senior forward/midfielder Brecken Mozingo leads the Cougars with 43 points (14 goals & 15 assists), while senior midfielder Oliva Wade-Katoa is number two on the team with 32 points (12 goals & 8 assists). Those are the two who the Cardinal most need to key on.
BYU always has a tough team that is always in the mix. They’ve never won the College Cup before, but they were runners up in 2021. They feel like a program that will eventually break through to win it all. Maybe this will be their year.
“Yeah, tremendous respect for BYU and what Jenn Rockwood has done at BYU for so many years,” Ratcliffe said. “So, I’m always a big admirer of what they’re doing. They have an exceptional team…Last year we met them in the playoffs probably too early for both of us. Because I thought we had good spots last year as well. And we unfortunately didn’t win. We lost in PKs. But I thought it was a tremendous game and we’re expecting another very competitive game. So yeah, it’ll be a good test for us for sure.”
Prediction: I haven’t made a prediction all season in men’s or women’s soccer, so I won’t jump in make one this late in the season. That said, I will say that Stanford’s history gives them a certain advantage. Paul Ratcliffe has won this before. He knows what it takes. BYU on the other hand is still knocking on that door. That all being said, it does feel like BYU’s time is coming and given that they come in as the higher seed while also having beaten Stanford last year, BYU should feel confident going into this one. This is honestly a match I could see going either way. Should be a good one.
“We haven’t made it anywhere this close to the Final Four in the past three years,” Doms said. “It’s kinda full circle for me since I went to the Final Four in my Freshman Year. Now I’m a fifth year. But, I think it’s really exciting for all these girls that haven’t made it this far in the tournament and yeah, hard work is paying off and I’m really excited for everyone to see what it’s like to play when there’s only four teams left.”
“I’m so excited,” Montoya added. “Like, I can’t believe it. It seems like a whole different world and I’m so excited to go with the team. They’re my best friends, so it’s going to be amazing.”
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