May 9, 2004
STANFORD, Calif. - After a stunning semifinal loss, the Stanford Cardinal came out aggressive, scoring early and often and kept the Hartwick Hawks at bay behind solid defense and tough saves by both Meridith McColl and Amanda Matuk. Seniors Lauren Faust and Wendy Watkins scored a combined four goals as the Cardinal took the consolation game and the third-place title with a 12-2 win.
The Cardinal had no trouble scoring early as senior co-captain Faust powered a shot from four meters past the Hartwick keeper Amy Brunton. Stanford goalkeeper McColl made three saves and the Cardinal defense had four steals on Hartwick's first seven possession to set the tone early. Local Palo Alto High product Laurel Champion recorded a netter with 3:15 left in the first period to put Stanford ahead by two. With 1:43 to go, sophomore driver Scotti Shafer took a long pass from the keeper, McColl to sprint down the pool and throw one into the cage in the face of the Hawk's Brunton. Stanford added another score 29 seconds later as freshman defender Alison Gregorka took a pass on the left side of the cage to score from two meters. The Cardinal capped the first period scoring with a penalty shot by Faust, her second goal of the game, after the Hawk's Sheri Johnson was whistled for a foul in the 2-meter zone.
Hartwick came out in the second period utilizing double team sets to confuse the Cardinal and induce a pair of turnovers, but Stanford rode clutch scrambling by Hannah Luber to prevent Hartwick from capitalizing and Luber broke out with two goals (with 4:32 and 2:53 left in the period). Hartwick continued to play aggressively and had a great scoring chance on a two-on-one opportunity, but McColl made a stunning block on a Kate Chambers shot to keep the Hawks scoreless. With 43 seconds to go in the half, Watkins one-timed a Nancy El-Sakkary pass to put the Cardinal up by eight. Hartwick managed to squeak one by McColl with 7 seconds to go as Carly Strub found the upper left corner of the cage.
Hartwick coach Alan Huckins called a timeout early in the third period, hoping to capitalize on a rare 6-on-5 opportunity, but that was stifled by McColl as she made her eighth save of the game. The Cardinal stormed back down the pool and scored a goal with 5:13 to go when El-Sakkary found the back of the cage off an assist from junior defender Kelty Luber. The Hawks were undeterred and scored 19 seconds later on a cross-cage shot by senior utility Johnson, her third of the tournament. Faust scored her third of the game with 1:57 left in the period, tying her single-game high this year. Watkins made an impressive steal on the ensuing Hawk possession and, seeing there was only 9 seconds left, sprinted halfway down the pool and found Hannah Luber unguarded on the inside. Luber made the shot with no time left.
In the final period, Amanda Matuk stepped into the cage for her first tournament action and promptly made two saves. Brunton stopped a Watkins breakaway with 2:01 to go by cleverly cutting off her angle to the cage and trapping the ball on the post. El-Sakkary then recorded her second goal of the game on a 6-on-5 opportunity with 1:00 to go to cap the Stanford scoring.
Notes: Hartwick center Ashleigh Jacobs made an impressive swat of a Christina Hewko 6-on-5 shot in the second period...The first half was littered with five Hartwick ejections, Stanford capitalized on three of them...McColl, whose defensive efforts went for naught in Stanford's semifinal loss on Saturday night, had eight saves in the first half; she had 12 on the match... With 3:39 to go in the third period, Stanford coach John Tanner called a 20-second timeout to make defensive changes to rest his starters...Stanford won 3-of-4 sprints...Hartwick used all its timeouts for the second game in a row...Lauren Faust had a fourth goal disallowed when she fouled her defender on the breakaway in the third period...Avrett, Faust, and Watkins left the pool after El-Sakkary's goal to a rousing home crowd applause.
Game Summary1234TOTAL (2) Stanford533112 (4) Hartwick01102
Stanford Scorers: Faust 3, H. Luber 3, El-Sakkary 2, Gregorka, Champion, Shafer, Watkins
Hartwick Scorers: Johnson, Strub
Goalie Saves:
Stanford: McColl 5 (2 goals against), Matuk 4 (0 goals against)
Hartwick: Brunton 1 (12 goals against)