SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Following their two opening road games to start the 2022 season, the USF Dons women's soccer team (1-1-1) was back in action at Negoesco Stadium as they welcomed the #13 Stanford Cardinal (2-0) to the Hilltop for the home opener.

Playing in front of a sellout crowd and under the typical foggy, misty San Francisco conditions, the Dons weren't able to secure much momentum on offense as they came up short in a 3-0 defeat to the Cardinal on Thursday evening. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Each side came ready to play and were aggressive in each other's sides of the field looking to try and gain momentum and get on the scoreboard.
• Stanford was able to break the scoreless tie in the 24th minute of action following a goal from Samantha Williams as they took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
• The Cardinal weren't done yet as they scored a pair of goals in the second half courtesy of Lumi Kostmeyer at the 50 and 69 minute mark to make it a 3-0 deficit for USF.
• That final score would hold as USF was unable to get on the scoreboard for the first time this season in their first loss of 2022.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Junior Megan Nail had a strong night in goal as she recorded five saves and did a great job of limiting the potent Cardinal offense to fewer chances for goals.
• Sophomore forward Gabby Rizzo led the USF offense as she was able to record two shots on goal as she did a great job of leading the USF attack.
• Freshman forward Lindsey Chau and sophomore midfielders Kaya Pigoni and Elle Soleau each all recorded a shot as well for the Dons.

CATCHING UP WITH COACH MILLINDER:
"I thought the first half we played awful hard and Stanford struggled to get out and they have a lot of good players on that team. Our first half was the best first half we've ever played against a Stanford team since I've been here over the 12 years. We missed a couple chances but Megan kept us in the game in the nets in first half. I thought our pressure organization was very, very good so it's another learning experience. I'm proud of the effort we learn from it and move on and looking forward to Davis." 

UP NEXT:
USF now returns back to the road as they will travel north to face the UC Davis Aggies (2-1) for a Sunday evening 5:00 p.m. kickoff at Aggie Soccer Stadium. The two teams last faced off during the 2019 season when the Dons were able to secure a 3-2 victory at Negoesco Stadium. 

For updates and more information on the USF women's soccer program, be sure to follow @USFDonsWSoccer on Twitter, @USFDonsWSoccer on Instagram and @USFDonsWSOC on Facebook.