Stanford Women's Soccer Continues Unbeaten Season

Stanford women’s soccer has just picked up another key win to begin their season. The Cardinal have had a great start to the season. In the opener last week, they absolutely dominated San Francisco, beating them 7-0, essentially playing a perfect offensive and defensive game.

They followed up on Sunday with another dominant win over a then-ranked Santa Clara team, 5-1. The dominant start brought the Cardinal up from No. 7 in the nation, all the way up to No. 2.

A week after from the start of the season, the Cardinal played their third game of the year, this time against the San Diego State Aztecs.

SDSU had an okay start to the year after being ranked fourth in the Mountain West preseason poll. They hosted No. 25 Texas Tech, losing 4-0, but followed up with a win on Sunday, 1-0. Going into the Stanford game, a 1-1 start was expected, but it would be a tough task to take down the Cardinal.

Right off the bat, Stanford dominated. Early in the game, winger Allie Montoya was consistently making moves to get herself open, displaying her skill on the pitch. By the 18th minute, it was already 3-0 to the Cardinal, with goals from Charlo tte Kohler, Andrea Kitahata, and Montoya. The offense was rolling.

However, that dominance was stopped in its tracks. Going into the half, the Aztecs game planned beautifully, figuring out how to stop the great Cardinal offense. In the second half, Stanford went scoreless, and remained at three goals on the day. It was the first time all season that Stanford hasn't scored in a half. In fact, it was the first time they hadn't scored at least two goals in a half this season.

Stanford won on the statsheet, taking 30 shots compared to the Aztecs’ four. San Diego State might not have won the possession battle, but sure made it interesting with their strong play in the second half.

This was a big win for Stanford, but also a solid game from San Diego State. 3-0 may not look good for them, but with the way they performed in the second half, there were plenty of positive takeaways for the program against a top-ranked opponent.

Stanford now improves to 3-0, scoring 15 goals on the year and allowing just one. Their offense has been fantastic, led by the likes of Montoya, Kitahata, and Aikey. Defensively, Elise Evans has been terrific for the Cardinal and has fans excited about what's to come this season.

On Sunday, Stanford will take on Saint Mary’s, a Bay Area rival. The Gaels have played one game this year so far, drawing against CSUN, 2-2. They also played to a 2-2 draw against Cal on the exhibition schedule earlier this month. Sunday's game will be another huge indicator of how great this Stanford team can be this season.