April 10, 2006
Stanford, Calif. - Six Cardinal seniors finished their careers on the Stanford campus on a high note tonight, leading the women's lacrosse team to a decisive 20-6 victory over UC Davis. The win was the 18th in history and the 12th straight over the Aggies. Stanford improves to 6-5 overall and 3-1 in the MPSF with the conference victory, and positions itself for a chance at a share of its fourth straight MPSF title. UC Davis falls to 6-6 on the season and 0-4 in conference play.
Stanford took control of the match from the beginning, scoring four goals in the first eight minutes and holding the Aggies scoreless for nearly 19 minutes. Megan Burker began her last game at Maloney Field with two quick goals to lead the 5-0 opening run. Freshman Eri Ichikawa ended the Aggie drought with an unassisted goal with 11:19 left to play in the opening half. The Cardinal answered with two goals by junior Bryanne Gilkinson and sophomore Daphne Patterson, however, to take a 7-1 lead. UC Davis managed to net two more goals before the break, but both were answered promptly by Burker. The Cardinal finished the first half with a solid 9-3 lead.
Burker's night continued in the second half, as she tacked up her fifth goal of the match within 52 seconds of the opening draw. UC Davis scored two more to pull within five, but the Cardinal quickly ended any thoughts of a comeback with a 10-1 run over the final 20 minutes of play.
In its last home match, the Stanford squad was led by none other than its six seniors. Burker led the team in scoring with a career-high six goals, which tied a single-game Stanford record and moved her into second place on the Stanford career scoring chart. Senior Sarah Bach notched her fourth multiple-goal game of the year with a hat trick, while senior Kinsey Morrison recorded her first career assist along with a team-high three caused turnovers. Thea Lorentzen and Nyerr Parham combined for four ground balls and four caused turnovers and goalkeeper Kate Horowitz recorded two saves in 30 minutes of action.
Along with the combined nine goals of Burker and Bach, Patterson scored three for the Cardinal to tally her fourth hat trick of the year. Junior Liz Piselli and sophomore Megan McClain each knocked in two for Stanford, as well. The Cardinal scoring was rounded out by single goals from Gilkinson, freshman Bis Fries, junior Michelle DeChant and sophomore Anna Brown. UC Davis was led by a freshman duo in Ichikawa and Patrice Clark, who combined for five of the Aggies' six goals. Of note, the Cardinal defense held Katie McMahon, the third leading scorer in the nation, to just one goal.
Stanford travels to Denver, Colo. this weekend to battle the University of Denver Pioneers for a share of the regular-season MPSF title. The match is set for 1 p.m. (MDT) Saturday at Pioneer Field on the Denver campus.