"Stanford star Jasmine Aiken has a chance to go out on top in her final collegiate game thanks to a perfectly-placed free kick Friday night. The Palo Alto native scored from just outside the penalty area nine minutes in to give No. 1 Stanford a 1-0 win over No. 2 Duke in a women's College Cup semifinal in Kansas City. The Cardinal (21-1-2) will face No. 3 Florida State (15-2-4) in the title game Monday at 4 p.m."
""What I rely on when I'm taking a free kick is just the knowledge that I've taken a thousand of these and it's just one more, not any different," Aiken said. "I think I saw (the goalie) cheating a little bit, or the near post was open. I just thought, you know, let me just try to get it there. But really it was just like relying on the stuff I'd done previously. Nothing special.""
"Aiken is the national leader in points with 53 and is tied for third with 21 goals. The senior midfielder has had a goal contribution in all 13 of her NCAA Tournament games. After Duke fouled senior Andrea Kitahata to the left of the goal, Kitahata went to restart play quickly, but decided to regroup. Aiken, the TopDrawerSoccer Player of the Year, then lined up to take the free kick."
Jasmine Aiken scored from just outside the penalty area nine minutes into a College Cup semifinal, giving No. 1 Stanford a 1-0 win over No. 2 Duke in Kansas City. Stanford advanced to face No. 3 Florida State in the national title game. Aiken leads the nation with 53 points and is tied for third with 21 goals, and she has recorded a goal contribution in all 13 of her NCAA Tournament games. The goal came from a quickly reorganized free-kick opportunity after Duke fouled Andrea Kitahata. Duke had not allowed a goal in its four previous NCAA Tournament matches.
Read at The Mercury News
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