Stanford scores two goals in final 14 minutes to steal a win at Paul Lorenz Field. 

Goalkeeper Bella Geist laid on the ground as Stanford celebrated in the goalie box following a last second goal from Andi Sullivan. Oregon State fell 3-2 to No.3 ranked Stanford Friday Night on a rain-soaked Paul Lorenz Field.

The Beavers (5-8-2 0-6 Pac-12) battled the Cardinal (12-1-1 5-1-0) in Corvallis falling just short of the upset after surrendering two goals in the last fourteen minutes of play.

Head Coach Linus Rhode said the game plan was to keep Stanford off of the fast break and make them play “more direct” by pressing them up high. The Beavers managed to do just that forcing Stanford to set up and take difficult shots and allowing only seven shots on goal out of twenty total shots.

Oregon State was efficient and made the most of their offensive possessions, posting two goals off of two shots on goal with only three total shots. Oregon State’s Bella Geist on the other side had 4 saves off of Stanford’s seven shots on goal.

“We needed to take advantage of the opportunities we would get because when you’re playing the (No. 3) team in the country you’re not going to get a lot of chances,” said Rhode.

Junior forward Nikki Faris opened up scoring in the 10th minute for the Beavers as she put one past Stanford’s senior goalkeeper Jane Campbell in the 10th minute.

The game would stay tied at one heading into halftime after a Stanford Goal from sophomore forward Averie Collins in the 41st minute, but in the 56th minute true freshman forward Taylor Lemmond scored her first career goal with an assist from sophomore forward Toni Malone to give the Beavers the lead once more.

The Beaver game plan seemed to work for the first 75 minutes of the game and they were up 2-1 entering the final 15 minutes and had kept Stanford to 3 shots on goal. A Stanford penalty kick tied the game up in the 77th minute, Geist had two saves in the final 10 minutes of the game, including one just seconds before the game winning goal was scored.

The weather heavily impacted play as players were sliding across the field in pursuit of one another. At some points the players would dribble into an area so soaked that the ball would just stop moving, and they would need to retreat to regain control.

“You had to be ready for everything,”  Beaver defender Kathryn Baker said “Thankfully we had a lot of great coverage so if someone made a mistake, another person was there to back her up.”

The Beaver offense showed improvement scoring two goals against one of the top teams in the conference after only scoring one total in their previous five conference games.

“This team brought commitment and intensity, and that’s all a coaching staff could ask for,” said Rhode

Despite the loss the Beavers were happy with the way they played against one of the nation’s top teams.

“I’ve never seen so much heart across the board,” she said.