Following two home games, the Boston College Eagles women’s soccer team traveled to California and fell to 4-3-4 against the No. 3 Stanford Cardinal (8-1-1) in a 2-0 loss on Maloney Field at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
It did not take long for the first goal to occur, as Jasmine Aikey capitalized on a failed clearance in the 10th minute. A pass from Boston College defender Amalia Dray to goalkeeper Olivia Shippee resulted in a deflection that rolled into an empty net.
Throughout the first half, the Eagles struggled to keep Stanford out of their side of the field, as the goal appeared to intensify Stanford’s attacking strategy. Stanford became increasingly more aggressive, registering 11 shots, 4 of them on target.
Despite the increased offensive play, Stanford did not score again in the first half due to a great defensive effort from Boston College. Shippee registered four saves, including an incredible dive to stop a bottom right corner shot by Charlotte Kohler in the 32nd minute. However, this defensive work was largely all the Eagles were able to focus on, as they did not register a shot throughout the entire first half, nor did they play any corner kicks.
After halftime, both Boston College and Stanford made multiple substitutions. Despite these changes, the second half was just as defensively rigorous for the Eagles, as Stanford shot 11 times in the first 15 minutes. Three of the shots were on target, but Shippee stopped them all.
The second half was characterized by the Eagles’ effort to score the equalizing goal, while also defending the large and consistent attacks from Stanford. The Eagles finally got their first promising opportunity in the 69th minute, following a foul on forward Emily Mara by Stanford’s Elise Evans that resulted in a yellow card. Unfortunately, the shot did not materialize.
The Eagles did not register another shot until after the “dagger” from Stanford: a top-right strike from Andrea Kitahata in the 76th minute—her fifth shot of the half after being subbed in.
However, the goal did not lower the spirits of the Eagles. On the contrary, they registered their most shots of the game after Stanford’s second goal, with four total and one on target. The shots were not exclusive to BC; Stanford also had four additional shots, two of which were on target and stopped by Shippee.
The game finished with Boston College totaling five shots (one on target) to Stanford’s 36 (12 on target), 10 total saves to Stanford’s one, and no corner kicks to Stanford’s six.
The game, despite being quite lopsided, demonstrated a strong effort from the Eagles against one of the best schools in the nation. While a loss certainly was not the desired result from the team, the game was a testament to the Eagles’ unwavering effort.
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