Stanford's women's soccer team's attempt at revenge was cut short in the College Cup semifinals, resulting in more disappointment against Wake Forest.

On Friday, the Stanford women's soccer team suffered a disappointing defeat at the hands of Wake Forest, ending their hopes of returning to the NCAA championship game. It was a tough loss for the Cardinal who were aiming for their seventh trip to the title game and a chance at their fourth national title. Unfortunately, the lone goal of the game was scored by the Demon Deacons in the 72nd minute, securing their spot in the College Cup semifinals at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.

Out of the four teams in the semifinals, all of which were from the Athletic Coast Conference (ACC), Stanford was the only school from outside of North Carolina. This made their journey to the final even more impressive, especially considering they were the only team from last year's College Cup to make a return appearance. However, their season came to an end in a 5-1 loss to Florida State, leaving them determined to come back stronger this year.

With a strong roster of returning players, Stanford had high hopes for this season. Despite finishing eighth in the ACC standings and not even qualifying for the conference tournament, the team rallied together and embarked on what they called their "revenge tour". Unfortunately, their hopes were dashed once again by Wake Forest, who continued their undefeated record against the Cardinal. In fact, Wake Forest was the only team to have played at least three matches against Stanford and not lost a single one.

This wasn't the first time Wake Forest had defeated Stanford this season. In their ACC debut, the Demon Deacons handed the then-top ranked Cardinal a 1-0 loss in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on September 19th. Both teams put up a strong defensive front, resulting in limited scoring opportunities. Stanford came close to taking the lead before halftime, but Wake Forest's goalie Valentina Amaral made a crucial save to keep the score tied at 0-0.

The game remained tight until the 72nd minute when Wake Forest's Emily Morris finally broke through Stanford's defense and scored the only goal of the game. Despite Stanford's goalie Haley Craig making a total of three saves, including two crucial ones in previous playoff matches, she couldn't stop Morris' shot from finding the back of the net. This was a tough loss for the Cardinal, who had been on a roll with four straight playoff wins, including a shutout against Notre Dame in the Elite Eight.

For Wake Forest, this was a huge victory considering they were predicted to finish ninth in the ACC preseason poll. After missing out on the NCAA tournament last year with a record of 10-3-5 and a sixth-place finish in the conference, they were not expected to make it this far. But now, the Demon Deacons have the chance to play for their first national title against either No. 1 Duke or No. 2 North Carolina in the championship match on Sunday.

Despite the disappointment, Stanford can still hold their heads high after a successful season. With players like Andrea Kitahata, who scored in three of their previous five matches, returning next year, they will surely come back even stronger. And who knows, maybe next year they will finally break their curse against Wake Forest and bring home that elusive fourth national title.

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