Nov. 2, 2002
Stanford, Calif. - Nora Feddersen's goal late in the first sudden victory overtime at 80:20 lifted California (11-6, 6-0 NorPac) to a 2-1 victory over Stanford (8-10, 4-2 NorPac) in the regular season finale for both teams and gave the Golden Bears an outright NorPac West Division title. The Cardinal had needed a victory to earn a share of the regular season NorPac West Division title with California for the second straight year. California swept the two-game regular season series over the Cardinal and has now won nine of the last 11 meetings between the teams.
"I thought we played awesome today," said retiring Stanford head coach Sheryl Johnson, who was honored in a pre-game ceremony before coaching her final regular season collegiate game. "We had our chances to put some balls in. It's just a matter of time before those shots are going to start falling. It's time for us to put some wins on the board in the NorPac Tournament and get back to the NCAA's."
The two teams played to a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation and remained scoreless until Feddersen rolled a soft shot in front of the Cardinal net that teammate Pooja Mehta swung at and missed before the ball rolled by Cardinal goalkeeper Ana Kralovec. The goal was the 10th of the season for Feddersen, who leads the NorPac in scoring with 26 points.
California struck for a 1-0 lead just before halftime when Mehta knocked a ball into the back of the net at 33:31.
The 1-0 margin held up until Stanford's Amanda Billmyer pushed a shot by California goalkeeper Kelly Knapp at 63:34 on an assist by Lyndsay Erickson to send the game into overtime. Billmyer finished the regular season with career-highs in goals (9) and points (19), both also highs on the team this season.
"It was a very physical game, and I was really proud of how our team stayed strong and fought until the end," said Billmyer, one of six seniors honored along with Johnson in a pre-game ceremony.
Knapp recorded 10 saves for the Golden Bears. Stanford starting goalkeeper Emily Zander had five of the six Cardinal saves, while Kralovec contributed one.
Stanford outshot the Golden Bears, 18-14, marking the 16th time in 18 regular season games that the Cardinal outshot its opponents. Stanford also held a slim 12-10 advantage in penalty corners.
Erin Booth recorded a key defensive save for the Golden Bears.
Stanford will next host the NorPac Championships this Thursday-Saturday, November 7-9. The tournament bracket with first-round pairings and seedings will be announced on Sunday, November 3. Four first-round games will be played on Thursday (9 am, 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm). Friday's action will feature a pair of consolation games (9 am, 11 am) and two winners' bracket contests (1 pm, 3 pm). The third-place game (10 am) and championship match (12:30 pm) will be played on Saturday.
"We're really prepared going into the NorPac Championships," added Billmyer. "I don't think that this loss is going to deter our team at all in our quest for the tournament title. Our team is just going to want it more now."