May 15, 2007
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Tournament Recap
Stanford captured its third consecutive MPSF Conference championship on Sunday May 6 with a 12-11 victory over Denver University on the campus of UC Davis. Junior attack Daphne Patterson led the way with four goals, while senior midfield Liz Piselli added three goals in the win. The Cardinal avenged an earlier 12-8 loss to the Pioneers in the title game. Stanford reached the championship after topping Saint Mary's, 20-7 on May 4 and knocking out No. 2 seeded Oregon 8-2 in Saturday's semifinal. The two goals allowed against the Ducks were the fewest this season and tied the Stanford record for fewest goals allowed by a goalkeeper in a comlete game.
Tournament Results
MPSF Quarterfinals - Fri. May 4
Game 1: #4 Cal def. #5 UC Davis 11-5
Game 2: #3 Stanford def. #6 Saint Mary's 20-7
MPSF Semifinals - Sat. May 5
Semi 1: #1 Denver def. #4 Cal 7-6
Semi 2: #3 Stanford def. #2 Oregon 8-2
5th Place: #5 UC Davis def. #6 Saint Mary's 12-10
MPSF Finals - Sun. May 6
3rd Place: #2 Oregon def. #4 Cal 8-7
Championship: #3 Stanford def. #1 Denver 12-11
Shane Earns Tournament MVP
Stanford junior goalkeeper Laura Shane led four Cardinal players collecting All-Tournament honors at the MPSF Championships. Shane earned the Most Valuable Player award after recording 28 saves and a 6.51 goals against average over the three games en route to the Cardinal's third straight title. The Baltimore native tied the Stanford record for fewest goals allowed in a complete game against Oregon, and posted a .596 save percentage on the weekend. Shane is Stanford's second consecutive MPSF Tournament MVP.
Trio Makes All-Tournament Team
Joining Shane on the All-Tournament team were senior midfield Liz Piselli, junior attack Daphne Patterson and junior defender Katharine Fox. With seven goals and three assists in the tournament, including four goals in the title game, Patterson earned her second straight all-tournament honors. Piselli led the team with 11 goals and 12 points, while winning nine draws and going 3-for-4 on free position shots for the Cardinal. Fox helped contribute to a stellar Stanford defense that allowed just two goals against No. 2 seeded Oregon and held onto the lead for the one-goal win in the championship.
The Hits Keep On Coming
Even before taking home the MPSF title, the Cardinal placed four players on the 2007 MPSF all-conference team after finishing third in the regular season standings. Senior Liz Piselli, juniors Laura Shane and Daphne Patterson and freshman Lauren Schmidt all earned recognition by the MPSF, giving Stanford four All-MPSF player for the second straight year.
Piselli earned her second consecutive all-conference selection after leading the Cardinal with 40 draw controls in the regular season. Piselli made her way into the top three in all-time in draw contols and moved up to eighth all-time in assists.
Shane made her third consecutive All-MPSF team this year. The junior led the team with 27 ground balls in the regular season and took hold of the Stanford record for both games played and saves in 2007, while playing every minute of every game in the cage for the Cardinal.
Patterson finished the regular season as the Cardinal's scoring leader with 31 points on 26 goals and five assists, while Schmidt roared onto the scene in her first season with Stanford, finishing second on the team in goals with 21, fourth in assists and third in points with 28. Schmidt also led the team with seven free position goals in the regular season.
Season Rewind
The defending MPSF champion Cardinal began the 2007 season on the road at Oregon, dropping its first opener since 2000 to the Ducks. After bouncing back with a win over Saint Mary's, Stanford played a string of ranked opponents, including No. 2 Duke, No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 7 James Madison. Five games into the season, junior goalkeeper Laura Shane became the Stanford all-time saves leader with her 460th career save in a loss to UConn. Stanford jumped out of a mid-season four-game losing streak with back-to-back wins over Colgate and Virginia Tech. In the win over Virginia Tech, Shane made history again, notching her record-breaking 44th career game in the cage for the Cardinal. Though the Cardinal fell to No. 3 Maryland, senior midfield Liz Piselli moved up in the record books, taking hold of sole possession of third-place all-time in draw controls. On March 31, Stanford posted its first victory over a ranked opponent this season, topping No. 12 Vanderbilt 10-9 on a last second goal from freshman attack Dana Lindsay. Stanford closed out the regular season winning three of its last five games before earning three straight victories to take home its third consecutive MPSF Tournament title. The Cardinal had three players named MPSF Player of the Week this season in freshman midfielder Lauren Schmidt, junior goalkeeper Laura Shane and freshman midfield Julie Christy.
Fond Farewell For Seniors
There's no question that Stanford seniors attack Michelle DeChant, defender Rachel Dyke, midfield Bryanne Gilkinson and midfield Liz Piselli leave some big shoes to fill with their departure from the Cardinal lineup. The four combined to make 214 appearances with 152 starts over the past four years. Piselli finishes her career third all-time in the record books with 101 draw controls, while DeChant tied for sixth in the single game record book for goals in a game with five against Ohio State last season. Gilkinson has started nearly every game she has played in for the Cardinal, making 47 starts in 58 games played. The group tallied 44 total starts this season, helping to solidify and lead a roster that featured 18 underclassmen.
Topping the Charts
As the all-time leader in goalkeeper minutes played and save percentage, Laura Shane is no stranger to broken records. Entering the season, Shane needed to make just 51 saves to become the new career saves leader at Stanford. With her fifth save of the game in the loss to UConn, Shane broke the saves record of 459 previously held by Stephanie Tuerk and set from 1997-99. A Baltimore native, Shane went on to make 11 saves against the Huskies and has since pushed the career saves record to 597, collecting 56 saves over her last six outings of 2007. Shane also broke Stanford's career games played record of 43 for goalkeepers with her start against Virginia Tech.
First Timers
With the loss of attacks Megan Burker and Sarah Bach and midfielder Nyerr Parham to graduation last year, there was plenty of room for the Cardinal's 11 freshmen, all of whom are attacks and midfielders, to step up and contribute in 2007. With All-MPSF selection Lauren Schmidt proving herself as an everyday starter and several other newcomers becoming valuable substitutions, the Cardinal freshmen made their presence felt this year. Including Schmidt's 25 goals and 32 points, Stanford freshmen contributed 61 goals, 25 assists and 60 draw controls this season.
Moving On Up
A few Stanford players moved up the ranks in the Cardinal career record book this season. Senior midfielder Liz Piselli's nine assists this season gave her 31 in her career, good for seventh place all-time. Piselli finished her career just seven assists out of the top five in that category, while her 101 career draw controls rank third all-time. Daphne Patterson's 95 career goals tie her for eighth all-time, while her 209 shots give her sole possession of the eighth spot on the career list for the Cardinal. In the single season record books, Piselli's 49 draw controls in 2007 rank second all-time and Shane's 188 saves rank fourth all-time giving her three of the top four single season saves records at Stanford.