Catarina Macario’s clinical free kick proved to be the winning goal in a 4-2 triumph of Santa Clara on Sunday night at Buck Shaw Stadium.
With the Cardinal (7-1-0) knotted up at 2-2 in the 77th minute, Macario planted an inch-perfect, 25-yard free kick into the top-left corner to put Stanford on top for good. Madison Haley scored moments later to put the game on ice, but only after the Broncos (4-5-0) twice equalized in response to Stanford’s first two goals, scored by Sophia Smith and Carly Malatskey.
Smith finished with one goal and one assist while Lauren Rood finished with three saves, all in the second half, to earn the win. Belle Briede and Abby Greubel added assists and Stanford outshot Santa Clara, 17-12, en route to victory.
An eventful first half ended 2-1 in favor of Stanford with Smith opening the scoring in the 22nd minute. Smith started the move on the right flank, collecting the ball before dribbling past several Santa Clara defenders. The Cardinal briefly lost the ball but Macario won it back 20 yards from goal and the ball fell to Smith, who kept her composure and buried her right-footed shot into the bottom-right corner to make it 1-0.
The Broncos struck back in the 40th minute. A Santa Clara corner kick was initially defended by Stanford but Machaela George stabbed home the ensuing loose ball to tie it up at 1-1.
Thirty one seconds later, the Cardinal regained the lead through Malatskey. Smith received the ball on the right wing and curled a dangerous cross past the sprawling Courtney Ogren. Malatskey collected it in space, picked her spot and drilling a right-footed shot inside the near post to restore Stanford’s advantage before the halftime whistle.
After the break, Santa Clara quickly leveled the score at 2-2 in the 52nd minute when Kelsey Turnbow beat Rood into the top corner. Rood made saves in the 67th and 74th minutes to keep the score level, setting up Macario’s spectacular game winner in the 77th minute.
From 25 yards out, Macario’s powerful, right-footed shot bent inside the top corner beyond the reach of Ogren to put Stanford on top for good. In the 85th minute, Stanford put the game out of reach with a fourth goal off the foot of Haley. Greubel released Haley into space and the junior did the rest, coolly slotting past Ogren to double the lead and put the game to rest.
No. 3 Stanford returns to action on Saturday when it travels to take on USC in Los Angeles at 1 p.m., marking the start of Pac-12 conference play.
Cardinal Notes
· Stanford scored four or more goals for the fourth time this season.
· Smith has scored in three of her four appearances this season.
· Macario’s goal was the fifth of her career scored from a direct free kick while her assist gave her the team lead with six.
· Macario’s 112 career points rank ninth in program history – her 41 goals rank ninth in program history while her 30 assists rank eighth.
· Macario has scored the game-winning goal in four of the Cardinal’s eight wins.
*Care of Stanford athletics
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