Despite strong performances from many players, the Stanford women’s soccer team dropped two games last weekend at the Santa Clara/adidas Classic to open the season (0-2-0). The losses to both Utah and No. 23 Wake Forest were very close, with Stanford battling until the final moments. This is the second consecutive year that the Cardinal has lost the opening game following 18 years of wins.

Though Stanford had several scoring opportunities early in Friday night’s game against Utah, they failed to capitalize. Utah led the very competitive game 2-0 going into the final minutes, when junior Mimi Yuhas put Stanford on the board with the first goal of her Stanford career. With just two minutes remaining, Stanford pushed for a tie. Sophomore Lea MacKinnon managed a goal attempt, but the ball sailed just over the post as the buzzer sounded.

Freshman Alicia Jenkins was a standout performer in the game, creating two scoring opportunities within the first 12 minutes of play and maintaining aggressive pressure on Utah throughout the game. Fellow freshman Kristin Stannard also took two shots, while the team managed a total of eight.

Stanford finished the Classic with a loss in overtime to Wake Forest on Sunday. The Cardinal started strongly, as sophomore Hillary Heath scored with a bouncing header less than six minutes into the game. This was the second goal of Heath’s Stanford career. Stanford’s aggressive play continued to dominate the first half, with MacKinnon, Jenkins, sophomore Kelley Birch, sophomore Allison Falk, and junior Lizzy George all earning scoring opportunities.

Wake Forest took the momentum in the second half, challenging a defense led by junior April Wall and senior Rachel Buehler. Buehler was recently named a Soccer Buzz Preseason All-American, marking her as one of the 12 most promising players in the nation this year, but Wake Forest’s Megan Upchurch managed to slip in a goal in the 84th minute, forcing the game into overtime. Upchurch nabbed a sudden second goal just over two minutes into the overtime, claiming the victory for Wake Forest.

This weekend the Cardinal will return to Stanford for their home opener game against the University of San Francisco at 7:00 PM on Friday, and will follow it up with another home game against Cal Poly this Sunday at 1:00PM.