May 6, 2001
Berkeley, CA - The Cardinal finished up their season today with a bang - an 11-6 victory over Bay Area rival California and their fourth Western Women's Lacrosse League Championship in a row. Stanford entered the post-season as the top-seed after remaining undefeated in conference action and proved why they are bringing West Coast lacrosse into the national spotlight. The Cardinal spent three weeks in April ranked No. 20, after becoming the first West Coast Division I school to break into the IWLCA Top 20 poll.
Stanford started today's game on top with sophomore Liz Lanese (St. Louis, MO/Mary Institute & St. Louis CDS) scoring the first goal 1:50 into the game. The Golden Bears scored two goals over the next five minutes, but Lanese answered them with two more goals of her own, one at 8:41 and another at 13:11. To finish the half Stanford sophomore Addie Strumolo (Norfolk, CT/Taft School) and freshman Noor Dawood (Hudson, OH/Western Reserve Academy) each put in a goal and they were ahead 5-3 going into the break. The Card opened the second half with another Lanese goal, at 1:58, and one by freshman Abbi Hills (Lakewood, CO/Colorado Academy), at 4:05. California returned with two more goals, but it was all over after three-consecutive goals by Dawood. Lanese and Dawood dominated the field with a combined 9 goals and 7 groundballs. Sophomore Rachael Neumann (Woodbury, NY/Syosset HS), in her 18th start in goal, finished with 19 saves and a .76 save percentage.
Stanford ends the season 14-5 overall and 9-0 in the WWLL, finishing up a dynamic season at a great spot to look towards an NCAA bid in the upcoming years. The WWLL conference winner does not automatically qualify to be one of sixteen teams in the national tournament, but Stanford is still eligible for an at-large bid. This season under first-year head coach Michele Uhlfelder, a National Team member since 1991, is definitely an indication of the direction Stanford lacrosse is heading. After one break-out year and another conference championship the Cardinal is ready to step-up and look at the bigger picture, including more recognition for the West Coast.
Scoring Summary
1 2 -- F
Stanford 5 6 11
California 3 3 6
Goals: (S) - Lanese 5, Dawood 4, Hills, Strumolo, (C) - O'Mara 2, Edwards, Monger, Preble, Wu. Assists: (S) - Dawood 2, Conte, Hills, (C) - Dunnigan 2. Saves - (S) - Neumann 19,(C) - Coelho 21.