Nov. 7, 1999
STANFORD, Calif. - Senior Sara Baron scored off a penalty corner six minutes into the second half to lead No. 16 California past Stanford 1-0 in the championship game of the NorPac Conference Field Hockey Tournament. California (12-4) advances to an NCAA Tournament play-in game Tuesday at UMass, the Atlantic 10 Conference champion.
It was the third meeting of the year between the two teams, and like the other two it was close all the way. Stanford (9-9) had more possession time but the Golden Bears held a 7-2 shot advantage through a scoreless first half. The Bears took the lead when NorPac Player of the Year Megan Sainsbury passed to Baron on a penalty corner and Baron put her shot in the corner of the goal. Stanford continued to pressure, outshooting the Bears 8-7 after intermission, and had a chance to tie the game with 13:04 remaining when the Cardinal was awarded a penalty stroke for a push committed against freshman Amanda Billmyer (Berwyn, PA/The Episcopal Academy). Cardinal senior Julie Gwozdz (Weston, MA/Phillips Academy)took the stroke, but Cal junior Sarah Hoehn stopped it with her stick to preserve the shutout. Hoehn, who was named the tournament MVP, made five saves, as did Stanford sophomore Rebecca Shapiro (Baltimore, MD/The Park School).
For Stanford, Gwozdz, Billmyer, senior Mallory Chambers (Tulsa, OK/Holland Hall) and junior Michelle Scott (Chicago, IL/Latin School) were named to the all-tournament team.
In the day's first game, junior Mollie Reichard had two goals and an assist to lead Southwest Missouri State past Pacific 4-2 for third place. The Bears jumped out in front three and a half minutes into the game on an unassisted goal by junior Mary Kukulinski, then Reichard scored 15 minutes in. Pacific got goals from junior Amanda Hardin and senior Breanne Shroyer a minute apart to tie the game later in the first half. Southwest Missouri State was playing with 10 players for both Tiger goals after a player was assessed a yellow card and removed from the game for five minutes. The game remained tied through much of the second half before junior Liz Lopez deflected Reichard's shot into the net. Reichard converted a penalty stroke with just over eight minutes remaining for the final margin.
Game 6
Southwest Missouri State 4, Pacific 2 (third-place game)
1 2 F Southwest Missouri State 2 2 - 4 Pacific 2 0 - 2
Scoring:
SMS:Mary Kukulinski, 31:34 1st
SMS:Mollie Reichard (Mary Kukulinski, Justine Schramke), 21:10 1st
P:Amanda Hardin (Leanne Tarr, Courtney Radonich), 13:51 1st
P:Breanne Shroyer (Kristi Townley), 12:49 1st
SMS:Liz Lopez, 15:15 2nd
SMS:Mollie Reichard (penalty stroke), 8:14 2nd
Shots - Southwest Missouri State 15, Pacific 11
Penalty Corners - Southwest Missouri State 10, Pacific 8
Saves - Monnie Elzy (SMS) 5, Lisa Beach (P) 6
Records - Southwest Missouri State 5-13, Pacific 5-12
Game 7
California 1, Stanford 0 (championship)
1 2 F Stanford 0 0 - 0 California 0 1 - 1
Scoring:
C:Sara Baron (Megan Sainsbury), 29:01 2nd
Shots - California 14, Stanford 10
Penalty Corners - California 7, Stanford 10
Saves - Sarah Hoehn (C) 5, Rebecca Shapiro (S) 5
Records - California 12-4, Stanford 9-9
1999 NorPac All-Tournament Team
Name Class Pos. School Hometown (Last School) Sara Baron Sr. Back California Cupertino, CA (Monta Vista) Amanda Billmyer Fr. Forward Stanford Berwyn, PA (The Episcopal Academy) Mallory Chambers Sr. Midfield Stanford Tulsa, OK (Holland Hall) Lucy Durbin Sr. Forward Saint Louis St. Louis, MO (Villanova) Julie Gwozdz Sr. Back Stanford Weston, MA (Phillips Academy) Annika Kuefer Fr. Midfield California Kiel, Germany (Kieler Gelehrtenschule) Kristie Lau So. Back SW Missouri St. Delta, B.C., Canada (South Delta) Robin Reschke Sr. Back California San Diego, CA (Serra) Megan Sainsbury Sr. Forward California Saratoga, CA (Prospect) Michelle Scott Jr. Midfield Stanford Chicago, IL (Latin School)Most Valuable Player
Sarah Hoehn Jr. Goalie California Fallbrook, CA (Fallbrook)