Feb. 24, 2006
Stanford, Calif. - The No. 20 Cardinal women's lacrosse team captured a hard fought win over Ohio State tonight by a score of 17-9 at Maloney Field. Stanford has now defeated Ohio State in three of the last four meetings and leads the overall series with the Buckeyes, 4-3. With the win, Stanford climbs to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The match marked the season-opener for Ohio State who falls to 0-1, 0-0.
The 17 goals by the Cardinal came from seven different players, as the squad bombarded Ohio State with ten goals in the first 30 minutes of play. Stanford was led in scoring by senior attacker Megan Burker and junior attacker Michelle DeChant, who notched five goals apiece in the match. DeChant's goals marked her first five of the season, while Burker now leads the team with seven goals on the year. Junior Liz Piselli also stepped up for the Cardinal, contributing a hat trick to the Cardinal effort. Senior Sarah Bach, freshman Bis Fries, freshman Jamie Nesbitt and junior Bryanne Gilkinson each netted a goal as well. Sophomore Megan McClain also contributed to the Cardinal scoring, with three assists on the night. Ohio State was led by KC Carter, with four goals on five shots.
The Buckeyes started off the scoring early with two goals in the first two minutes of the match. Freshman Kendall Gysin netted the first goal on a free position shot after just 35 seconds of play. Carter, a senior midfielder, followed with another goal just a minute later to put the Buckeyes ahead 2-0. On the next possession, however, DeChant jumpstarted the Stanford scoring action, netting a quick pass from McClain. After another Buckeye goal by Carter, the Cardinal began a seven-goal scoring run in which Burker contributed four of her five goals. The Cardinal outscored the Buckeyes 9-1 to close out the first half, sending the teams to the locker room with Stanford holding a 10-4 lead.
After the break, both squads showed they were ready to battle, trading goals for the first ten minutes of play. Another Stanford scoring run kicked off by DeChant in the 39th minute, however, would leave Stanford with a commanding nine-goal lead. Ohio State scored two free position goals in the final four minutes, but it was not enough to overtake the Cardinal.
Stanford returns to the field on Sunday to host Notre Dame in a highly anticipated match-up between two ranked programs. Action is set to begin at noon at Maloney Field.