| STATISTICS | ||
|---|---|---|
| STANFORD | CAL | |
| GOALS | 1 | 1 |
| SHOTS | 25 | 17 |
| CORNERS | 8 | 4 |
| SAVES | 5 | 10 |
| GOAL SCORERS |
Cook, 80' |
Mejia, 77' |
STANFORD, Calif. - No. 3 Stanford capped an undefeated Pac-12 season with a 1-1 tie against No. 20 California on Friday night.
On a night dedicated to its seniors, it was Cardinal freshman Alana Cook who ensured the graduating class went out without a Pac-12 defeat in their final season. It is the first undefeated conference schedule for Stanford (16-2-1, 10-0-1 Pac-12) since 2012 when the team went 11-0.
Stanford will await its postseason fate when the NCAA Tournament bracket is announced Monday at 1:30 p.m. (PT) on NCAA.com. The Cardinal expects to be in consideration for one of four No. 1 seeds in the 64-team pool and play host for the first four rounds, as long and the Cardinal keeps winning. At the very least, Stanford will play a first-round match at home on Friday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.
Friday’s game was filled with quality chances, back-and-forth action, spectacular saves and a clutch goal by Cook.
The Cardinal nearly saw its perfect conference record slip through its fingertips in the 77th minute when a high cross glanced through the hands of Jane Campbell and the Golden Bears pounced on the loose ball for a 1-0 lead.
Cook made sure her first Pac-12 season would not end with a loss and scored the equalizer less than four minutes later. It is her third goal of the season.
“The ball kind of popped out to the top and I was framing the goal,” said Cook. “I was just ready for anything to pop out and I needed a little help to get it in but we’re just happy it went in.”
“Alana Cook was amazing,” said Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe. “She’s one of the best freshmen I’ve ever seen. It was truly remarkable to score the goal and then make some of the plays she was coming up with.”
Stanford was excellent defensively, facing a season-high 17 shots and regular offensive pressure. The Cardinal shut down the Pac-12’s leading scorer Arielle Ship, limiting her to three shots on the night.
Cook and fellow center back Maddie Bauer were particularly impressive and each made multiple strong defensive plays to halt the Golden Bears’ attack.
“I’m happy to have two solid people in front of me,” said Campbell when asked about her center backs. “Alana stepped up like no one else has and I can’t wait to see how she develops over the next four years of her career. She still has a lot to learn, which is scary hopefully for our opponents because she’ll be incredible.”
Ratcliffe echoed Campbell’s thoughts on Bauer and Cook and noted the importance of Bauer’s mentorship of Cook during her freshman campaign.
Campbell, the two-time reigning Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week, was terrific in goal and tied her season high of five saves, including two point-blank stops to keep Stanford in the game and preserve the tie.
Haley Rosen and Andi Sullivan generated a team-high five shots apiece out of the midfield and were threats any time they touched the ball in the offensive half.
With the NCAA Tournament beginning next week, Ratcliffe and the Cardinal believe they are well-tested and ready to pursue a deep run into the playoffs.
“This was a good game to end the season on because this is indicative of what we’re going to see in the playoffs,” said Ratcliffe. “It’s going to be emotional and a real rivalry game. Every game has that tenacity to it. It was a College Cup atmosphere.”
Cardinal Notes
- Stanford is undefeated in its past 11 games and 13-1 in its past 14 contests.
- Stanford improved to 19-11-5 all-time against California.
- Underclassmen have accounted for 25 of Stanford’s 35 goals this season (71 percent). Freshmen lead the team with 14 goals, followed by the sophomores (11), seniors (5) and juniors (5).
- Jane Campbell tied her season high of five saves (Santa Clara, Sept. 20).
- Stanford remained undefeated in overtime games this season (4-0-1).
