Mon November 25, 2024

By Lance Hawley

Arkansas' Season Ends in Sweet 16
Fuller Birch

FAYETTEVILLE – No. 2 seed Arkansas women’s soccer ended its season in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 on Sunday night after No. 4 seed Stanford advanced to the next round, 4-2, on penalty kicks.

The match officially ended in a 1-1 draw with the Hogs scoring in the first half and the Cardinal scoring in the second. Sophomore forward Bella Field continued her postseason tear with another goal, her sixth career NCAA Tournament score, which ties Jessica De Filippo for the most goals in the Big Dance in program history.

Stanford leveled the match in the 56th minute via a banger from outside the penalty box by freshman forward Charlotte Kohler. After 20 minutes of golden goal extra time, the match headed to penalties. Arkansas last experienced spot kicks in 2022, when the squad advanced past Memphis, 3-2, to go to the program’s second Elite 8.

Freshman goalkeeper Keegan Smith, who recorded a career-high nine saves in the 110 minutes of play, stood in goal for Arkansas. Stanford’s Haley Craig defended against the Hogs.



Penalties



Arkansas – 2/4

  1. Bella Field, MAKE, bottom right
  2. Ava Tankersley, MISS, saved bottom left
  3. Taylor Berman, MISS, saved bottom right
  4. Kate Doyle, MAKE, bottom middle

Stanford – 4/4

  1. Andrea Kitahata, MAKE, top left
  2. Lumi Kostmayer, MAKE, bottom right
  3. Haley Craig, MAKE, top left
  4. Shae Harvey, MAKE, bottom right

Stanford, last year’s College Cup runner-up, is headed back to the Elite 8 for the second straight season and will face 4-seed Notre Dame in Palo Alto, California later this week.

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