Nov. 7, 2003
St. Louis, Mo. - Stanford (5-13) fell to two-time defending champion California (11-3) by a score of 3-0 in the NorPac Championship semifinals on Friday at the Anheuser-Busch Center. Teela Crothwaite scored just 0:21 into the game on an assist by Valentina Godfrid before Godfrid added an unassisted goal at 9:49 to give the Golden Bears an early 2-0 lead. Nora Feddersen picked up an unassisted tally early in the second half at 47:16 to complete the scoring.
Stanford will conclude its 2003 season with a third-place game versus Southwest Missouri State (6-14) on Saturday at 10 am, CT. California advances to its sixth straight NorPac championship game on Saturday (12:30 pm, CT) versus Radford (9-13), a 2-0 winner over Southwest Missouri State in Friday's other semifinal contest.
"You have to applaud California for capitalizing on its opportunities and playing efficiently today," said Stanford head coach Lesley Irvine. "Their defense also played very well and thwarted a lot of our opportunities."
Stanford outshot California, 14-10, and also held a decisive 9-3 advantage in penalty corners.California goalkeeper Kelly Knapp (11-3) recorded 11 saves to pick up the victory, while Stanford's Emily Zander (4-10) took the loss and had six saves.
Stanford's Aska Sturdevan had a game-high six shot attempts, while Feddersen's three shots paced the Golden Bears.
California has now won eight straight games against Stanford dating back to the last Cardinal victory in the series on October 6, 2001.
Stanford and Southwest Missouri State split their two games this season, both played at Stanford. The Cardinal posted a dominating 6-0 victory in the first meeting between the teams on October 26 before the Bears rebounded with a 2-1 victory two days later.
"It's very important to finish the season on a high note in the third-place game tomorrow," said Irvine. "It's an important game and can get us going in the right direction for next season."
Stanford failed to reach the finals of the NorPac Championship for the first time in the event's six-year history. The Cardinal won the title in 1998 and 2000, while finishing second to California in 1999, 2001 and 2002.
Appalachian State (12-8) picked up a thrilling 5-4 victory over Saint Louis (3-16) and Pacific (9-7) was a 3-0 winner over Davidson (8-12) in consolation action on Friday. All four teams finished their respective seasons as the consolation bracket in the NorPac Championship does not extend to a third round.