By Alexa Corse on September 30, 2016

No. 1 Stanford women’s soccer (9-0-1, 2-0 Pac-12) defeated Washington State (5-4-1, 0-2 Pac-12) 2-1 on Thursday night, as senior goalie Jane Campbell made dramatic saves to protect the Cardinal’s lead.

The game was closely contested, and, particularly in the second half, Washington State was able to take the ball into Stanford’s half of the field. Each team had opportunities to take the lead, but Stanford performed at the crucial moments to clinch the victory at home.

“Washington State had a great game and created a lot of problems for us,” said head coach Paul Ratcliffe. “But Jane was amazing with some big saves, and then the two goals we scored were incredible too.”

Junior midfielder Andi Sullivan scored the first goal of the night in the 63rd minute as she broke away from the Cougars’ defenders through the midfield.

Sophomore forward Averie Collins put Stanford up 2-0 in the 78th minute, after an elaborate setup from sophomore defender Tegan McGrady and junior forward Kyra Carusa. Sprinting toward the corner of the field, McGrady left-footed the ball back into the penalty box area. At the left goal post, Carusa flipped the ball between her legs and behind her so it passed in front of the goal. There, Collins shot the ball high and straight ahead for the game-winning goal.

Collins scored the game-winning goal against Washington State last season as well, in double overtime.

Campbell had an unusually busy night defending the goal for the Cardinal. She notched six saves, five of them during the second half. Washington State goalkeeper Ella Dederick had four saves.

Morgan Weaver scored the Cougars’ only goal in the 88th minute, left-footing the ball 18 yards into the goal.

“Big takeaway from the game would probably be, we’ve got to stay in it for 90 minutes,” Campbell said. “They could’ve tied the game.”

Campbell also got some crucial help from sophomore defender Alana Cook, who blocked a shot at the goal line in the 59th minute.

But Campbell said she enjoyed some moments during the challenging night, particularly when she defended two back-to-back shots from Washington State.

“I haven’t seen [back-to-back shots] quite as much this year, because our back line has done a good job,” Campbell said. “Washington State put up a good fight. It was just fun to see, and it’s part of the job.”

It’s highly unusual for Stanford to trail its opponent in number of shots or corner kicks, but Washington State managed to get the upper hand in those statistics on Thursday. The Cougars took 14 shots — 10 in the second half — compared to 10 in total from the Cardinal. Washington State also had 6 corner kicks, three more than Stanford.

Stanford next hosts the University of Washington on Sunday at 2 p.m., concluding the Cardinal’s nine-game homestand.

Contact Alexa Corse at corsea ‘at’ stanford.edu.