SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Soccer suffered a 4-0 loss to No. 2 Stanford on Sunday in a game delayed two-and-a-half hours due to inclement weather.
"Stanford is a fantastic team this season and their quality showed throughout the game," head coach
Rich Manning said. "I thought our team had some excellent moments and we played with aggressiveness and confidence on the ball. We defended well at time and this week, we have to get ready for two more tough contests. I want to thank our field crew and game operations staff that handled this difficult day and turned it into a great environment."
The Cardinal made an early impact through Madison Haley as she was able to nip away down the right side and cut in along the end line. She slipped the ball past
Carly Nelson for a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute.
Utah was able to get the ball in the Stanford half and
Courtney Talbot forced a save from Katie Meyer.
Ireland Dunn fired wide in the 15
th minute before the Cardinal doubled its lead. Sophia Smith found the back of the net for a 2-0 advantage.
Jessica Hixson sent one over the bar in the 25
th minute and after
Kristin Fairbairn was clattered into by Meyer,
Aleea Gwerder's ensuing free kick was deflected wide for a corner.
Stanford made sure Utah could not capitalize on any momentum coming out of the half as Haley scored her second on the match in the 49
th minute.
Hailey Stodden and Gwerder let fly on chances to try to get the Utes on the board but the Cardinal added another in the 73
rd minute. Catarina Macario scored her NCAA-leading 20
th goal of the season for a 4-0 edge.
Brooklyn James unleashed a blast that may have been the best chance for Utah, but it sailed over Meyer's goal in the 84
th minute.
Stanford has now out-scored opponents 28-2 in Pac-12 play this season and has recorded seven-straight shutouts. The Cardinal are 36-0-1 in its last 37 conference matches dating back to 2016.
Next for Utah is a contest at #19 Washington State on Thursday in Pullman. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. PT and you can catch the game live on the Pac-12 Networks.