Another Strong Performance
STANFORD, Calif. – Freshman Andrea Kitahata scored her first two collegiate goals to tally a brace, guiding No. 13 Stanford (3-0) to a 6-0 victory over San Diego State (1-3) on Sunday afternoon from Cagan Stadium.
Kitahata struck for Stanford's last goal of the first half in the 45th minute to send the Cardinal into the break leading 2-0 before finding the back of the net in the 50th minute to open the four-goal second half.
Fifth-year senior Belle Briede started the scoring for the Cardinal in the 22nd minute, cleaning up a rebound off a shot from Maya Doms that originated from an Abby Greubel corner kick. The goal was Briede's second of the season.
A pair of freshmen connected on Stanford's second goal of the day as Avani Brandt dropped a pass over the back line where Kitahata ran onto the ball, settled, and cut back to her left before firing a shot past SDSU goalkeeper Alexa Madueno.
Greubel set up the second Kitahata goal of the afternoon with a beautifully played through ball that put the freshman one-on-one with Madueno. The native of Hillsborough, Calif. touched the ball to her left foot and finished past the slide of the keeper.
Greubel put on a show for her fourth goal of the season to extend the Cardinal lead to 4-0 in the 73rd minute, receiving a ball wide of the box and dribbling in against a defender. After cutting toward the top of the box, she halted and cut back to her left, firing a shot past Madueno.
Junior defender Madison Ayson scored her first career goal in the victory, heading home a cross from Julia Leontini in the 82nd minute of the match. Ayson's goal handed Stanford a 5-0 cushion to that point.
Freshman Nya Harrison put the finishing touches on the rout in the 85th minute, scoring a spectacular goal for her first points as a Cardinal. The native of San Diego, Calif. sent a left-footed ball in from the far-left corner that hit off the far post and ricochet into the back of the net.
Stanford finished the game with 44 shots, including putting 21 on goal. Madueno, who was tested throughout the match, tallied 14 saves in addition to the six goals allowed.
On the other side, Stanford allowed just six shots, with four requiring saves from Stanford keeper Katie Meyer. Meyer played the first 77 minutes of the contest before sophomore Ryan Campbell secured the shutout – Stanford's third in as many matches this year.
In addition to the disparity in shots taken, Stanford also forced 13 corner kick opportunities compared to just four for the Aztecs.
Stanford will return to action next week when it travels to North Carolina to face No. 5 Duke and No. 2 North Carolina on Thursday and Sunday, respectively.