The College Cup is becoming somewhat routine for the Stanford women's soccer team, as they advanced to the NCAA finals for the sixth time in seven years.
This year's qualifier, took 110 minutes of give and take as Stanford eventually beat Florida (17-4-2) on penalty kicks last Friday night at Cagan Stadium. Stanford took the lead twice, with goals by Taylor Uhl and Kendall Romine, but Florida responded immediately each time.
And it was Stanford's goalie, Jane Campbell, who kicked the clincher after Kendall Romine, Lo'eau LaBonta and Haley Rosen converted their chances in the shootout.
Campbell had already made a crucial save with the second Florida kick of the shootout:
"We were fortunate for the first shot to hit the post and bounce out, so I'll take that as a save and move onto the next one...After the second save for sure it really gave us the confidence we needed to finish it. Taylor (Burke) made a great save...she's a great keeper, very athletic and we were just fortunate to put them away."
Next up, third-ranked Stanford (20-1-3) will play Florida State on Dec. 5 in Boca Raton, Florida, in the national semifinals. If they progress through that game, the NCAA National Championship game is Dec. 7 at the same location.
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Scoring: Stanford -- Taylor Uhl (Chioma Ubogagu), 3:21; Florida -- Own goal, 9:35; Stanford -- Kendall Romine (Andi Sullivan), 74:31; Florida -- Havana Solaun (Annie Speese), 78:46.
Penalty-kick shootout: Florida -- Annie Bobbitt (no good), Annie Speese (no good), Pamela Begic (good), Havana Solaun (good), Lauren Silver (good). Stanford -- Kendall Romine (good), Lo'eau LaBonta (good), Chioma Ubogagu (no good), Haley Rosen (good), Jane Campbell (good).
Records: Stanford 20-1-3, Florida 17-4-2.