Oct. 7, 2002
Fenton, Mo. - Stanford (8-7, 4-0 NorPac) remained unbeaten in NorPac action with a 4-3 victory over Saint Louis (1-9, 0-3 NorPac) on Monday as Amanda Billmyer picked up her first career hat trick and Keely Machmer-Wessels converted the game-winning goal at 58:25 to break a 3-3 tie. The victory extends Stanford's lead in the NorPac West Division to one full game over California (7-3, 2-0 NorPac) heading into a showdown between the teams this Saturday in Berkeley (1 pm, PT). The Cardinal and Golden Bears tied for the NorPac West Division regular season title last year with identical 5-1 conference marks after splitting their two-game season series. The squads will be meeting for the first time this season on Saturday.
"It's nice to be on top of the standings," said Stanford head coach Sheryl Johnson. "We are really looking forward to a big game against California this Saturday."
Stanford jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on Monday when Billmyer scored goals at 7:51 and 9:15 on respective assists by Eleanor Morgan and Noor Dawood.
Saint Louis rallied to tie the score at 2-2 on a pair of unassisted goals by Carin Boone at 13:13 and 22:42, before Billmyer's third goal of the first half at 28:59 on an assist by Missy Halliday gave Stanford a 3-2 lead at the break.
The Cardinal maintained its 3-2 advantage until the Billikens tied the contest at 3-3 when Lindsay Lombardo converted a penalty stroke at 57:34 but Machmer-Wessels struck just 0:49 later with her game-winning score.
Stanford has won 14 of its last 16 NorPac regular season and tournament games, as well as three of its last four games overall.
Stanford outshot Saint Louis, 21-5, and held a 15-1 advantage in penalty corners. The Cardinal has outshot its opponents in 13 of 15 games this season.
Stanford goalkeeper Emily Zander played the entire contest in the net and recorded a pair of saves. Saint Louis goalkeeper Leslie Kearns stopped nine Cardinal shots.
Billmyer's scoring outburst gives her 15 points for the season, just three shy of her career-high of 18 as a sophomore in 2000 and two less than team-leader Amrit Chima's 17 points.
Dawood set a new personal single-season best with her 12th point of the season, assisting on Billmyer's second score.
Following this Saturday's showdown at California, Stanford will complete the regular season with a three-game homestand that begins with a non-conference game versus Yale on Sunday, October 20 (1 pm, PT).