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Kait Devir
Women's Lacrosse

Cardiac Cardinal Earns First ACC Postseason Win

No. 3 seed Stanford takes down No. 6 Syracuse on strength of 10-goal second half

Box Score

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A 10 goal barrage in the second half was enough to fuel a comeback as the No. 13/12 Cardinal earned its first-ever ACC Postseason Tournament win, taking down the No. 6 seed in No. 17 Syracuse, 15-10, at American Legion Memorial Stadium on Wednesday night. 

Entering the second half, Stanford had allowed seven of the final eight goals of the first half, needing an Aliya Polisky tally to break the Syracuse scoring run with eight minutes left in the second quarter to take an 8-5 deficit into the break. Then the Cardinal came to life. 

Stanford opened the match on the front foot, steamrolling to a quick 2-0 lead four minutes into the match courtesy of Lindsey Devir and Rylee Bouvier finding twine. Following a counter strike from the Orange, Ava Arceri grabbed her 47th of the season before Bouvier finished off a feed from Polisky for her 27th of the campaign with a tick under nine to go in the opening quarter. 

However, Syracuse clawed back and eventually took the lead with a 7-0 run that spanned the remainder of the first quarter and into the second as Stanford failed to stop the run, needing the aforementioned Polisky tally - which set a new career-high - to enter the second half down by three. 

Stanford, on the strength of a 5-0 run, stormed back into the drivers’ seat with Bouvier and Polisky striking back for the Cardinal alongside Devir and Maddigan Miller. Polisky’s tally with just over three minutes left in the fourth earned the sophomore her 15th hat trick of the season and ninth in the last 11 games. Syracuse broke the run from the Cardinal with a late-quarter tally as Stanford entered the final 15 minutes with a one-goal lead. 

That was when Stanford took complete control. The Cardinal, which allowed the final Orange tally on a free position strike, forced Syracuse into five turnovers in the final frame - totalling 12 for the second half as the offense continued to keep pace from the previous quarter, tallying five goals including a brace from Martha Oakey to open the scoring. 

Bouvier, Polisky, and Arceri capped off the scoring with Bouvier claiming her fourth goal of the evening and sixth point of the game as part of the final 3-0 run for Stanford. The Cardinal was able to ride out the final minutes following a late yellow card, earning its first-ever ACC Tournament victory with the 15-10 win. 

Defensively, Stanford showed out with 16 caused turnovers with Olivia Rose and Kate Bellissimo leading the way with three a piece. In cage, Lucy Pearson made eight saves including five in the second half while Ella Morton grabbed one save in limited action in the second quarter. On the draw, Bouvier led the way with 5 draw controls, accounting for half of Stanford’s output. The Cardinal defensive corps also earned its 15th game of holding the opposition to 10 or fewer goals. 

Stanford is back in action on Friday, April 25, taking on the No. 2 seed in #2 Boston College from American Legion Memorial Stadium for the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. Opening draw is slated for 8 p.m.