Cardinal finally beats Tar Heels in 13th attempt

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Aug 23, 2014

[NORTH CAROLINA-STANFORD: Women] Well, the 13th time was the charm for Stanford. That's how many games the No. 7 Cardinal played against North Carolina before finally beating the Tar Heels. It got a goal from Chioma Ubogagu in the 99th minute for a 1-0 win over the No. 4 Tar Heels before 4,509 fans in Chapel Hill.

North Carolina 0 Stanford 1:
STAN: Chioma Ubogagu (Alex Doll) 99
Att.: 4,509.

After freshman Maddie Bauer's free kick was pushed forward by Alex Doll, Ubogagu took the ball just outside the penalty kick, spun right and beat three defenders toward the end line before putting the ball into the goal at the near post.

It’s a significant victory,” he said. “But right now, our focus is on this game. I’m really proud of the team. It was a great way to start the season. They deserved to get the victory. Hopefully, it will propel us to a really strong season.”

Stanford got a big game from freshman Andi Sullivan, who had one practice with the Cardinal after returning from the Under-20 Women's World Cup in Canada.

“Andi was incredible,” Ratcliffe said. “She’s the type of player we’re going to look to. She fits into the program so well, I wasn’t surprised at her impact. You never really know until you see them in a big-game atmosphere, but she was so composed.”

Stanford goalkeeper Jane Campbell, who was with defender Stephanie Amack and Sullivan on the U.S. U-20s, kept the Cardinal in the game, making five saves in the first half when Carolina had a 7-1 edge in shots.

In the 76th minute, Campbell stopped North Carolina’s Alex Kimball on a breakaway and late in regulation forced the Tar Heels’ Summer Green -- another U-20 -- into a point-blank miss.

The Carolina-Stanford series had been so one-sided it wasn't until the 11th game that Stanford even led. They met twice in the Women's College Cup, first in the 2009 final and then in a 2012 double-overtime semifinal.

Six current Stanford players, including Ubogagu and Doll, were involved in the 2012 match.

“This was a great team win,” Ratcliffe said before turning to the Cardinal's next match at the Carolina Nike Classic, its first meeting with Duke since its 1-0 win over the Blue Devils in the 2011 NCAA final. “But it’s going to take a good performance against Duke on Sunday to make the weekend complete.”