STANFORD, Calif. -(DU Media Relations) In its first Sweet 16 appearance in school history, the University of Denver women's soccer team was shut out by No. 1 Stanford 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
"They (Stanford) are a good team," head coach Jeff Hooker said. "Having that athleticism and the experience that they have speaks to the quality team they put on the field. Paul (Ratcliffe) is a really good coach. When you watch them play, you can see a really good coach coaching really good players from a soccer standpoint and an athletic standpoint. "
Stanford (20-1-1) got on the board in the ninth minute on sophomore midfielder Alex Doll's sixth goal of the season. The Cardinal had a good portion of the ball in the opening moments of the match, and combined a few passes in the attacking third to create the opportunity. Courtney Verloo and Chioma Ubogagu connected passes on top of the box setting up Doll's turn-around left-footed strike from 12-yards out.
Denver (17-3-4) would create a couple chances in its attacking third in the remainder of the half, but couldn't find the final pass to get a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes. Senior forward Kaitlin Bast (Centennial, Colo.) collided with freshman right back Laura Liedle in the 31st minute, and would not return to the match.
"When it was 1-0 at halftime, we just needed to generate something, and just create a goal to get back into the game," Hooker said. "We had to press a little bit when it got to 2-0, but I'm really proud of our team. We didn't pack it in, we didn't go for a tie; we went out to try to win the game. I thought the girls did a really good job of sticking to the game plan."
The Cardinal made it 2-0 in the 57th minute on a 25-yard half-volley from Nina Watkins into the upper-right corner. Lo'eau LaBonta was credited with the assist on the goal the doubled the Stanford advantage.
In the 78th minute, Chioma Ubogagu capped off the Cardinal's scoring, hooking a breakaway strike around Denver goalkeeper Lara Campbell (Anchorage, Alaska) on a feed from Sydney Payne.
Stanford held a 22-5 shot advantage in the match, and a 5-0 edge in corners.
DU graduates seniors Kalie Vaughn (Fort Collins, Colo.), Katy Van Lieshout (Boulder, Colo.), Maria Khan (Aurora, Colo.), Campbell and Bast this season.