The Miami Hurricanes soccer team (3-4-2) suffered defeat late Thursday night in Palo Alto to perennial powerhouse Stanford (10-1), with the final score at 1-0.
In a new normal for Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play, the ‘Canes took a long flight to US West Coast for a matchup with the Cardinal. Stanford came into the game ranked No. 6 in the country, as the ACC has seven of the teams in the top 25 poll.
The ‘Canes redshirt freshman forward, Moira Flynn, kicked off the action with two shots within the first ten minutes of the match. Miami was able to get three corner kicks in the Stanford end during this time also, yet they were unable to yield a goal from these opportunities.
However, the Hurricanes were unable to get another corner kick for the rest of the game, and only one more shot was taken by Miami in the second half for a total of four shots in the game. Miami pushed the pace and had many promising situations in Stanford’s end in the second half, but nearly none resulted in shots even with Miami’s possession dominance.
Meanwhile, on the Stanford side, freshman defender Lizzie Boamah from San Diego netted the only goal on the night for the Cardinal in the 17th minute. This came off of an assist from Andrea Kitahata, a redshirt junior forward.
In spite of the loss, the performance of Hurricanes goalkeeper Gray Willson should be noted. She played for all 90 minutes and was able to net a career-high nine saves, including six in the first half. Her performance allowed for Miami to stay within one goal for the duration of the evening.
Coach Ken Masuhr praised Willson and her teammates after their performance Thursday night while speaking to Hurricanes Athletics.
“Credit to Gray Willson who had a stellar performance with several key saves, as well as the rest of our four freshmen that started tonight. Our team is capable of a result on Sunday against Cal, and we will prepare over the next few days to give ourselves the best chance to bring one back.”
The Hurricanes will look to bounce back Sunday afternoon against Cal in Berkeley, California. Kickoff is set for 4 PM ET from Edwards Stadium on September 29.