Montoya’s First-Half Brace Holds Up

STANFORD, Calif. – Freshman Allie Montoya scored a pair of first-half goals and No. 14 Stanford (10-2-1, 3-1-0 Pac-12) held off Washington (8-2-2, 2-2-0 Pac-12) to earn a hard-fought 2-1 victory in front of a sell-out crowd from Cagan Stadium on Thursday night.

For Montoya, the brace was her second of the season after scoring a pair in a 2-0 shutout of No. 8 Penn State on September 1. The two goals pushed Montoya’s season total to five – second on the team behind fellow freshman Lumi Kostmayer with nine.

Montoya, who totaled five shots in the match, struck first in the 23^rd minute as she weaved her way through the Washington defense and laced a right-footed shot off a defender and into the back of the net to make it 1-0.

A brilliant run of play for the Cardinal resulted in the second goal in the 35^th minute as Samantha Williams played a ball down the right wing for senior Sierra Enge. Enge crossed a pass into the box where Montoya one-timed it into the back of the net to record the brace.

The Cardinal finished the first half with a 12-4 advantage in shots, while Washington goalkeeper Olivia Sekany managed four saves in the opening stanza.

Playing a physical brand of soccer, Washington swarmed the Cardinal back line, but Stanford’s defense held up strong throughout the first half. The Huskies started to put things together in the second half, compiling 12 total shots in the period and drawing to within a goal in the 72^nd minute…