STANFORD, Calif. — The Notre Dame women’s soccer team (4-3) faced its toughest test of the young season as they faced off with top-ranked Stanford (5-0) Friday night on the road. Notre Dame got a second-half goal from Karin Muya to keep the Irish within one but the Cardinal pulled away over the final 30 minutes and defeated the Irish 3-1.
How it Happened
The Cardinal held a majority of the possession in the opening minutes of the match but the Irish defense stood tall and kept away any major chances. The Cardinal had a 4-0 shot advantage over the first 25 minutes but none of them ended up on net.
In the 28th minute, the Irish earned the first shot on goal of the match courtesy of Sabrina Flores. Flores made some space between the Cardinal defense and fired a shot on goal but Jahansouz made the save.
Moments later, the Cardinal capitalized on their chance in the attacking third. Macario got a ball up to DiBiasi in the box and she slotted a shot into the right corner for the first goal of the match.
In the second half, the Cardinal increased their lead after earning a corner kick within the first two minutes. Teagan McGrady sent the corner into the box where Anna Greubel was waiting and she scored to give Stanford a 2-0 lead.
The Irish did not quit as they got a goal back within the next 10 minutes of the Cardinal goal. Jenna Winebrenner started the play up for the Irish off the throw in to Jennifer Westendorf. Westendorf flicked the pass into the box to Karin Muya. Muya curled the shot past the keeper and off the far post for the goal. She scored the first goal of the match for the Irish and cut the deficit to 2-1.
Shortly after the Irish goal, Stanford increased its lead back to two after the goal from Sophia Smith. She scored on a low finish from the left side after a long from Kiara Pickett. That goal regained the two-goal lead for the Cardinal and secured the win.
Coming Up Next
The Irish will finish off their two-game west coast road trip with a Sunday matinee against No. 12 Santa Clara. The Irish and Broncos will square off at 3 p.m. ET at Stevens Stadium before returning back to campus.
For behind-the-scenes coverage of the Irish women’s soccer program, follow @NDSoccer on Twitter and @NDWSoccer on Instagram. For tickets to a Notre Dame women’s soccer match, click here.
–ND–Matt Paras, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since January 2018. In his role, he coordinates all media efforts for Notre Dame women’s soccer, baseball and assists in ice hockey. A native of Warwick, Rhode Island, Paras is a graduate of the University of Louisville where he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sport Administration. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, he worked at Vanderbilt University as the sports information contact for the women’s soccer and lacrosse programs.