Top-seeded Stanford blanks BYU soccer in NCAA third-round match

STANFORD, Calif. — BYU women's soccer saw a familiar end to the season Monday afternoon.

Jasmine Aikey notched a brace in the first 20 minutes, and Eleanor Klinger added two goals and two assists as top-seeded Stanford blanked the Cougars 6-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA women's soccer tournament Monday at Cagan Stadium in Stanford, California.

Caroline Birkel made two saves to earn the shutout for the Cardinal, the Cougars' familiar west coast rival that improved to 7-3-1 all-time against BYU including 5-2-1 in the NCAA Tournament.

Stanford has eliminated BYU from the NCAA Tournament in two of the past three seasons, including a 2-0 win in the College Cup semifinals in 2023.

The Cardinal (18-1-2, 9-0-1 ACC) out-shot the Cougars 20-7 and put seven shots on goal after starting fast, as they are wont to do, with five straight shots in the first eight minutes before Aikey's team-high 18th goal of the season.

Andrea Kitihata doubled the advantage three minutes later, playing off a give-and-go with Klinger before slotting a rocket inside the far post to go up 2-0.

Aikey did it again in the 19th minute, scoring her second straight brace and fifth of the year with an assist from Elise Evans as Stanford looked every bit the part of a contender for its fourth national title.

The Bay Area native who won a Pac-12 title as a freshman and an ACC championship as a senior will certainly have a professional career — and likely sooner than later.

But it will come after a deep NCAA Tournament wrong, or at least one through the national quarterfinals after back-to-back wins over Alabama and BYU by a combined 13-3 margin.

Klinger got on the board in the 35th minute, putting BYU in a 4-0 hole with their most goals conceded since a 4-2 loss Oct. 10 at Baylor. The Cardinal out-shot the Cougars 10-5 in the first half, with four of their five shots on target finding the back of the net and Birkel saving an attempt by Ellie Walbruch in the 34th minute to keep the first-half clean sheet.

Klinger found fellow sophomore Charlotte Kohler in the 55th minute to stretch the lead to 5-0, and Klinger finished off the scoring three minutes later to advance to host Michigan State in Friday's national quarterfinals with a spot in the College Cup in Kansas City on the line.

The Cougars end the season with an 11-7-6 record, including a 4-5-2 mark in Big 12 play before sneaking into the conference tournament and becoming the league's first No. 8 seed to win a conference tournament title and clinch the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

In 31 seasons as a sanctioned program under head coach Jennifer Rockwood, BYU has been to the NCAA Tournament 26 times, with 10 Round of 16 appearances, five national quarterfinals, two College Cup semifinals and a national championship game appearance in 2021.

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