Shorthanded No. 1 Stanford Faces Massive No. 3 Duke Challenge

In order to reach the national championship game in 2025, the Stanford women's soccer program had to defeat Duke in neutral territory last December, which they did with a 1-0 final. The win pushed the Cardinal up to a 5-2-1 record against the Blue Devils under head coach Paul Ratcliffe. That record stands at just 1-1 at Duke.

No. 1 Stanford has been rolling for years now, holding a 73-8-11 record over its past 92 matches, including a clean sheet in 47 of its last 88 matches. The one big difference now is that the Cardinal are shorthanded, with All-ACC goaltender Caroline Birkel representing the USA in the U-20 Women's World Cup in Poland. Transfer Rhiannon Stewart has taken over in goal.

She's joined by Cardinal teammates Lizzie Boamah, a defender who was also in the starting lineup for the U.S. against Japan on Wednesday, and midfielder Y-Lan Nguyen, who had been receiving plenty of preseason praise. Overall, Stanford has a nation-high six players competing for various countries in the U-20 Women's World Cup. 

No. 3 Duke doesn't have a single representative on the U.S. World Cup team. Not only will they be fielding a more complete team, but they'll also have the advantage of playing at home in Durham on Sunday, September 13. 

Given that these two programs met in the College Cup last season, this will be a very important match for each program, and Stanford will be coming in fighting an uphill battle. 

This past Sunday, Jaden Thomas propelled Stanford with a hat trick in Stanford's 4-0 win over Santa Clara on the road. The Cardinal have seen a number of players step up while key pieces of the roster are away, but the key for the program against Duke will be the team's defense. 

At the end of August Stanford Roundtable pointed out that the Cardinal had been doing a tremendous job of defending, limiting the number of shots from their opponents, making their goaltender's lives just a little easier. In the two games played since, Stanford has allowed nine shots (and two goals) to USC in a 2-2 draw, and 10 shots to Santa Clara. 

Heading into those two games, Stanford had been out-shooting its opponents 20-5.2 per game on average. Maintaining that kind of an advantage against the Blue Devils will be difficult, especially with leading defender Boamah away from the program, but it could be the key to victory. 

Freshman defender Sadie Leal-Schuman was named ACC Freshman of the Week on September 1 after scoring one goal and three assists against No. 17 UCLA and Cal State Fullerton. She has been one of those players who has been stepping up with this new opportunity while Stanford has been shorthanded. 

A win against Duke would send a message. If Stanford can beat a top-three team shorthanded on the road, the Cardinal will be unstoppable once some of their best players return.