Stanford defeats BYU 2-0 in Women’s College Cup semifinals
CARY, N.C. – Sophomore Allie Montoya scored in the second minute, and fifth-year player Maya Doms added one in the fourth minute, as No. 3 Stanford (20-0-4) defeated No. 6 BYU (20-3-3) 2-0 in an NCAA semifinal match from the 2023 College Cup and WakeMed Stadium.
With the victory, the Cardinal advances to play No. 1 Florida State on Monday at 3 p.m. in the national championship. The clash with the Seminoles (21-0-1) marks the first national final between two undefeated teams in NCAA women’s soccer history.
The Cardinal finished with just three shots in the victory, with all three coming in the first half, but made good on its first two chances.
BANG‼️
Allie Montoya gets the Cardinal off to a great start in Cary!
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? » https://t.co/TfxmmsyvBx#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/rK5yrLTrnj— Stanford Women’s Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) December 2, 2023
Montoya wasted no time putting the Cardinal on the board, receiving a pass sent across the box by Jasmine Aikey before bending a shot toward the upper left corner of the goal for her second score of the season.
Adding on just a few minutes later, Kennedy Wesley slotted a ball out of the back line and onto the foot of Doms. The native of Davis, Calif. cut to her right before lacing a rocket of a shot into the upper left corner of the goal and past the outstretched arm of BYU goalkeeper Lynette Hernandez.
4’ » GOALLLLLLL ?@MayaDoms with the dart to make it 2-0! ?
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? » https://t.co/TfxmmsyvBx#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/ZyYWtHQLr3— Stanford Women’s Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) December 2, 2023
The goal was Doms’ 11th of the season and her third of the NCAA tournament.
Leading 2-0 after the first four minutes, Stanford’s defense held steady over the final 85-plus, turning away several chances as BYU finished with a 20-3 advantage in shots. The Cougars rattled the woodwork on a few occasions, and had a would-be goal called back due to offside just before halftime, but Ryan Campbell and the Cardinal held strong for the shutout – Stanford’s 14th of the season and the 11th of the year for Campbell.
Campbell finished the match with three saves behind her stellar defensive line.
GAME NOTES
- The Cardinal is making its 32nd NCAA Tournament appearance, including its 25th in the last 26 seasons
- BYU entered the match averaging 3.16 goals per game and had scored a national-best 79 goals, but was shut out for just the second time this season
- With Friday’s victory, Stanford has reached the NCAA College Cup final for the sixth time in program history – including the first since the 2019 national championship season
- With USC dropping a match to BYU on November 16 in the second round, Stanford is the last Pac-12 school standing in the 2023 NCAA Tournament
- The Cardinal has compiled a 70-23-8 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play
- Stanford has allowed one goal or fewer in 36 straight matches dating back to Sept. 29, 2022 at USC
- Now 20-0-4 to start the season, and with the 2022 campaign coming to an end via a penalty kick shootout, the Cardinal is unbeaten in its last 36 matches (30-0-6) and has posted 20 shutouts in the last 32 contests
- With an assist on Friday, Jasmine Aikey has contributed a point in 17 of the 24 matches this season
- Maya Doms has scored in 11 of 24 matches, including five of the last seven and eight of the last 14
- Stanford improves to 8-0-3 this season against ranked opponents
