10-10-2025, 11:00 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-10-2025, 11:03 AM by OCcardinal.)
It's big to have Kitahata back already. Also good to have freshman defender Lily Freer back. She had played among the most minutes on the team but missed Stanford's last game against Syracuse for some reason. Great header by Freer on the first goal to send the long corner back toward Elise Evans and get the assist. It was good to see defenders and some younger players earn goal contributions last night with Montoya out and Kitahata only playing 27 minutes.
The final 5-0 score vs Virginia Tech was a pleasant surprise. Virginia, North Carolina, Wake and Georgetown each only beat Virginia Tech by 2-1, and they've only been shut out once (a tight 1-0 loss to NC State).
Overall, this has been a great stretch - 17 goals in 4 ACC games, all shut outs. I'm really encouraged by the 4 shut outs, despite the somewhat weaker competition. Sophie Murdock played in all of the 4 shutouts (and notably didn't play vs either Clemson or UCLA). So I'm feeling pretty good about the defense with Murdock seemingly healthy. Now we head into the toughest part of our conference schedule with back-to-back games against Virginia and Florida State.
The final 5-0 score vs Virginia Tech was a pleasant surprise. Virginia, North Carolina, Wake and Georgetown each only beat Virginia Tech by 2-1, and they've only been shut out once (a tight 1-0 loss to NC State).
Overall, this has been a great stretch - 17 goals in 4 ACC games, all shut outs. I'm really encouraged by the 4 shut outs, despite the somewhat weaker competition. Sophie Murdock played in all of the 4 shutouts (and notably didn't play vs either Clemson or UCLA). So I'm feeling pretty good about the defense with Murdock seemingly healthy. Now we head into the toughest part of our conference schedule with back-to-back games against Virginia and Florida State.