The Gophers made a serious bid to become the first soccer team in more than a year to defeat Stanford, but it lost in overtime 2-1 before an announced crowd of 1,443 on Sunday at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium in St. Paul.
Sam Hiatt scored the winning goal off a corner kick in the 94th minute for top-ranked Stanford (4-0-0). The win was Stanford's 26th straight, a program record. During that stretch it has outscored opponents 94-8.
"We had a lot of momentum in the later part of the game, and we put a team that is able to impart their will on anyone uncomfortable," Gophers coach Stefanie Golan said. "Our team is coming off of this one disappointed but excited about the way we competed the entire time that we were out there."
Stanford outshot Minnesota 16-2, including a 6-1 advantage in shots on goal, but the Gophers (3-3-0) tied it 1-1 in the 75th minute when freshman Patricia Ward set up Molly Fiedler for a goal.
It was the first goal allowed from open play by the Cardinal since Aug. 25, 2017 — a span of 2,243:10. In that time the only goals it gave up were on corner kicks, penalty kicks or free kicks.
Saints end losing skid
The St. Paul Saints defeated the Winnipeg Goldeyes 6-5 in front of an announced crowd of 8,549 at CHS Field, breaking a three-game losing streak.
The Saints stayed in the hunt for the American Association North Division title when the Gary SouthShore RailCats lost in 16 innings Sunday night. The Saints can win the title on Monday, the final day of the regular season, with a win over Winnipeg (11:05 a.m. first pitch at CHS Field) and another loss by Gary.
Either way, the two teams will meet in the playoffs. Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-five series will be at the home park of the second-place team.
Kyle Barrett extended his hitting streak to 26 games, and Beck Wheeler broke the league record for most strikeouts in a season by a relief pitcher. He has 94.
