Nov. 6, 2003
Saint Louis, Mo. - Stanford (5-12) moved on in the NorPac Championship with a 2-1 overtime victory versus Appalachian State (11-8) in a first round game Thursday at the Anheuser-Busch Center. Cara-Lynn Lopresti picked up the game-winning goal at 81:11 when she dribbled through the Mountaineer defense and scored unassisted from 10 yards out. Stanford will next meet local rival and No. 20 California (10-6) in a semifinal contest on Friday (1:30 pm, CT). The Golden Bears, who have won seven straight games over Stanford dating back to the last Cardinal victory in the series on October 6, 2001, were a 2-1 first round winner over host and No. 4 East seed Saint Louis (3-15) on Thursday.
"Our team was incredibly determined and focused for the game today, and we were really pleased to get the win," said Stanford head coach Lesley Irvine. "We're very excited to play California tomorrow. It's time to put this win under our belts and refocus for tomorrow."
"Cara-Lynn's goal was very typical of the way she plays," added Irvine about the team's leading scorer, who has scored 24 points on nine goals and six assists this season. "She has outstanding individual skills and is hard to stop. If she is given a little space, she is able to capitalize on it."
Appalachian State had an opportunity to win the game in overtime when the Mountaineers were awarded a penalty stroke at 79:01 but Stanford goalkeeper Emily Zander made a diving save on the stroke attempt by NorPac scoring leader Nara Brookes, the first time a Stanford opponent has attempted a penalty stroke against the Cardinal this season.
The teams were engaged in a scoreless tie until nearly the midway point of the second half when Stanford's Missy Halliday broke the ice and gave the Cardinal a 1-0 lead with a reverse shot on an assist from Dani Guernsey at 51:54.
Brookes answered back at 62:03 when she ricocheted an unassisted goal off the stick of a Stanford defender and into the back of the cage to tie the game, 1-1.
Stanford dominated in shot attempts, outshooting the Mountaineers by a tally of 24-6. Lopresti took a game-high seven shots, while Brookes led the Mountaineers with three attempts.
The Cardinal also held a lopsided 16-4 advantage in penalty corners.
Appalachian State goalkeeper Kate Ryno (11-8) stopped 14 Stanford shots despite taking the loss. Zander (4-9) picked up three saves and earned her fourth win of the season.
Stanford won a game for the first time this season when the Cardinal did not score three or more goals.
In the bracket opposite Stanford, No. 3 seed Radford (8-13) picked up a 1-0 penalty stroke victory over No. 2 West seed Pacific (8-7) and No. 4 West seed Southwest Missouri State (6-13) surprised Davidson (8-11), the top seed from the East, by a score of 1-0. Radford and Southwest Missouri State will meet in Friday's other championship bracket semifinal at 11:30 am, CT. Pacific and Davidson will open Friday's action with a consolation game (9:30 am, CT), while Appalachian State and Saint Louis will play in the consolation bracket at 3:30 pm to conclude the day's action.
The winner of Friday's two semifinals will meet in the championship game on Saturday at 12:30 pm, CT, while the losers will play a third-place contest at 10:00 am, CT. There will be no third round games in the consolation bracket.
Stanford won the NorPac Championship in two of its first five years (1998, 2000), while finishing second in each of the other three seasons (1999, 2001, '02).