Recap: No. 3 Stanford Women’s Soccer cruises past Syracuse
On Sunday, No. 3 Stanford women’s soccer defeated Syracuse 4-0. Andrea Kitahata (0:55), Eleanor Klinger (7:40), Allie Montoya (10:12), and Jasmine Aikey (45:57) scored for the Cardinal. Caroline Birkel picked up one save at goalkeeper for the Cardinal playing the first half while Alyssa Savig picked up four saves, playing the second half. Shea Vanderbosch played all 90 minutes in the net for the Orange, picking up seven saves while allowing four goals. Stanford improves to 9-1-1 overall and 3-0-1 in the ACC while Syracuse falls to 4-5-4 overall and 0-4-1 in the ACC.
BOX SCORE: Syracuse at Stanford-Sunday, September 28th
“Yeah, team started really fast, got a couple early goals,” Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe said after the match. “I thought the energy was really strong throughout the whole group and fantastic game for us.”
“Yeah, not too bad,” Aikey said of the win. “Coming off a bye week we had very specific goals in mind and we didn’t really want to take our foot off the gas, so we knew that we had to show up to all our ACC games. So I was really proud of the team effort and how we started fast and finished strong.”
Stanford came out of the gates hot in this match with Kitahata scoring at 0:55 off an assist from Aikey and Klinger. She was able to find the bottom right of the goal off her right foot. Unfortunately, Kitahata suffered a left leg injury on the goal in a collision with the goalkeeper. She left the match and did not return, having to be helped off the pitch. Post-match, she had her left leg in a brace and was using a crutch. That certainly put a damper on what was otherwise a fantastic afternoon for the Cardinal.
“Yeah, Andrea Kitahata is a key leader for our team,” Ratcliffe said. “I think we played for her. She inspires everyone. So I think the team wanted to do well for her when she had to step out of the game. But she scored a fantastic goal right before that injury, unfortunately.”
“Yeah, I mean this team is just so mentally strong,” Aikey said. “I was on the other side of it last season when I got injured at the end, but we play for each other and we play for those who can’t and so when ‘Dre went down, we knew that we had to go even harder than we were planning to and I think we really honored her today and I think hopefully she’ll be fine, but we just put in the team effort. It’ll all for her and all of our other injured players.”
Shortly thereafter at 7:40, Klinger found the bottom left of the goal off her right foot as Allie Montoya and Shae Harvey got credited with the assist. After getting their second corner kick of the match at 9:40, Stanford would score their third goal at 10:12 as Montoya found the top right of the goal off her right foot. Elise Evans got credited with the assist. That gave Stanford a 3-0 lead.
Stanford would not score the rest of the half, maintaining a 3-0 lead going into halftime. Stanford was out-shooting Syracuse 16-1 in the first half, truly dominating the entire half as the Orange were unable to get anything going.
In the second half, Stanford quickly tacked on a fourth goal at 45:57 as Aikey found the bottom right of the goal off her left foot. Shae Harvey and Charlotte Kohler got credited with the assist. Up 4-0, all was going Stanford’s way.
“Yeah, we want to create positive habits for moving forward,” Ratcliffe said. “So we have to keep our foot on the gas, keep working hard, but we do need to finish more chances. I thought we created a lot of chances, but we didn’t finish as many in the second half, so we need to continue to work at that. Our concentration, our focus. But it’s great that we’re creating opportunities. We just need to finish, capitalize on more of them, finish more.”
“I think that’s just been a team mentality from last year to this year,” Aikey added. “If you see our goals scored, we’ve already eclipsed our goals last year a couple weeks ago. So, really, it’s just like we know that 3-0 isn’t enough and we always want one more. And when people come on, they want to score and that’s just such a great mentality to be around. And it’s never good enough, which we love.”
Stanford wouldn’t score the rest of the half and Syracuse was unable to get on the board, making 4-0 the final score. That said, Syracuse did up their aggression in the second half, forcing Alyssa Savig to get saves at 57:24, 57:44, 61:55, and 81:22. To Savig’s credit, she was able to get those saves and prevent the Orange from making it interesting.
“Yeah, Alyssa made a couple big saves and did a fantastic job,” Ratcliffe said of Savig. “Alyssa is a hard worker and deserves the opportunity. So super proud of her.”
While Stanford lost Kitahata in this match, they were able to get junior midfielder Mia Bhuta back. With Kitahata out, it’s huge for Stanford to have Bhuta back in the lineup. She’s been a key part of what they do and should help soften the blow until/if Kitahata is able to return.
“Yeah, Mia is another key leader for our team,” Ratcliffe said of Bhuta’s return. “I thought she was fantastic. She only played limited minutes, but I thought she was incredible. Her leadership, her quality on the ball, her energy, everything she brings to our team, really positive.”
While she didn’t score a goal in this match, Shae Harvey had a strong outing. She had two assists and did a great job of setting up her teammates for goals. She’s been doing that all season and continues to do a great job at playmaking.
“Yeah, Shae’s outstanding. Been outstanding all season,” Ratcliffe said of Harvey. “She’s a competitor, great passer of the ball, she can score goals, I’m happy she got a couple assists.”
This was the first match of a doubleheader at Cagan, with the men’s team also winning later on in the night against Boston College. Stanford men’s head coach Jeremy Gunn said after their match that he has fun watching the women’s team and learning from their excellence.
“Well, you know, it’s such a wonderful environment we have as soccer programs,” Gunn said. “Paul is an amazing guy and always set the standard here and went, when we got here, you know, the biggest mandate, can we create a men’s team that the women can be proud of as well? Because they’ve been amazing, you know?
“And then I always joke, I’ve looked up to him because he’s so much older than me. We used to play against each other in L.A. leagues many years ago. He was a much better player than I was back in the day. He had the little mullet going on and everything. But no, look, he’s an amazing guy and to have such an incredible program alongside, you know, the players, they’re so supportive of each other. The staff are so supportive of each other. It’s really, really cool. It makes it a joy to be around each other, you know?”
Up next for Stanford is a home match against Virginia Tech on Thursday, October 9th. That will begin at 7:00 PM PT on ACCNX.
“Yeah, same as last week. I think it’s business as usual,” Ratcliffe said of how they’re approaching the bye week. “Keep the team growing and moving forward. And be prepared for the game on Thursday. It’s hard to replicate games. So that’s the intensity of games. So that’s the most difficult thing. So we need to make sure we have some intense training sessions and continue to grow the group.”
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