Nov. 3, 2005
Berkeley, Calif. - Third-seeded Stanford (7-12) defeated sixth-seeded Appalachian State (3-12) today in the first round of the NorPac Conference Tournament, 5-1. The Cardinal scored three goals in the last seven minutes of the game, with So. Jess Zutz contributing two goals for the win. Stanford will advance to play California tomorrow at 3:00 pm at Maxwell Family Field.
Julia Drewes put Stanford on the board early with a goal at 8:11 during a penalty corner, assisted by Missy Halliday. Less than two minutes later, Zutz scored again to put the Cardinal up, 2-0, with an unassisted goal. Appalachian State's Carrie Johnson scored from the top of the circle during a penalty corner just before the half, assisted by Andrea Lee and Jessica Harris. Appalachian State went into the half trailing by a goal, with Stanford out shooting the Mountaineers, 11-3.
The majority of the second half went by scoreless, until Zutz scored again unassisted in front of the net at 63:06. Liz Robinson netted a fourth goal for the Cardinal, unassisted at 65:14 after dribbling solo to the right corner of the goal. Hillary Braun capped off Stanford's scoring, tapping in a goal assisted by Simmy Martin with less than a minute left in the game.
"We were very pleased to get the win," said head coach Lesley Irvine. "We were happy to have stepped up our game in the second half. We are thrilled about the opportunity to meet Cal in the semifinal. It will be a great matchup, since both times Cal and Stanford played this year resulted in great games. We anticipate a high quality semifinal game."
Stanford out shot Appalachian State, 21-7, led by Zutz with four shots. Robinson, Halliday and Drewes followed with three shots each. Carrie Johnson led the Mountaineers with four shots, followed by Ashley Green with two shots.
The Cardinal earned six penalty corners, scoring on one in the first half. Appalachian State recorded four penalty corners, also scoring on a corner in the first half. Stanford continues to earn more penalty corners than its opponents, 102-88.
Goalkeeper Madison Bell nabbed two saves for the Cardinal, bringing her season total to 56 saves. Appalachian State's Kate Ryno tallied six saves, including four in the first half.
Stanford advances to a semifinal game versus California tomorrow at 3:00 pm at Maxwell Family Field in Berkeley. The Cardinal and the Golden Bears have faced off twice this season, with Cal winning 1-0 at home and 3-2 in overtime at Stanford. The winner of tomorrow's semifinal games will play in the championship match on Saturday, November 5 (12:30 pm). The third place game will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday.