April 9, 2006
Stanford, Calif. - In the home finale for seniors Laurel Champion (Palo Alto, CA), Nancy El-Sakkary (Dollar des Ormeaux, Quebec), and Scotti Shafer (Carlsbad, CA), the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal overpowered No. 10 Arizona State 15-6 in MPSF action at the Avery Aquatic Center on Sunday afternoon. The win extended Stanford's winning streak to 7 games as the Cardinal improved to 18-3 overall and 9-1 in MPSF action. ASU fell to 12-11 and 4-7.
The action-packed opening frame saw a total of 8 goals scored and 6 goalie saves. Junior Katie Hansen (Coronado, CA) got the scoring started with a 4-meter penalty shot goal at the 5:11 mark. Fellow junior Alison Gregorka (Ann Arbor, MI) then followed with a goal at 3:59 before Hansen scored her second goal of the period a minute later to make it 3-0. ASU got on the board when Katy Lawlor powered a backhand into the net at 1:52 to go in the first period, cutting Stanford's lead to two goals.
El-Sakkary then put an ejection goal into the net and fellow senior Shafer scored a breakaway goal to make it 5-1 with just under a minute to go in the first. ASU's Rowie Webster scored a 4-meter penalty goal at the 0:43 mark to make it 5-2 before Hansen scored her third goal of the quarter with 12 seconds to go, giving Stanford a 6-2 lead after one period.
ASU goalkeeper Caylinn Wallace and Stanford goalie Meridith McColl each had 3 saves in the period.
Stanford began to pull away in the second frame as it scored 6 unanswered goals. At the 6:36 mark, Gregorka tallied her second goal of the match, while sophomore Megan May (San Diego, CA) also got in the action with a breakaway goal to make it 8-2 with 5:49 left in the half. Hansen put in her fourth score of the day to make it 9-2 and sophomore Jacquelyn Gauthier (Irvine, CA) scored to make it 10-2. Freshman Lauren Silver (Long Beach, CA) re-took the team lead with her 39th goal of the season at the 1:11 mark, and the Cardinal punctuated the period with a last second goal by freshman Jessica Steffens (Danville, CA), who gave the Cardinal a 12-2 lead at halftime.
ASU would not go down quietly as it broke for four goals in the third period, getting scores from Addison Doud, Webster, Lawlor, and Kim Buck. Stanford also scored a pair of goals in the third with senior Champion highlighting her final home match with an ejection goal at 4:17 and fellow senior El-Sakkary scoring her second goal of the day at 1:09.
Stanford led comfortably at 14-6 heading into the final period and exchanged possessions with the Sun Devils before Shafer scored her second goal of the day at 3:53 to make it 15-6. After Shafer's score, coach John Tanner took Champion, El-Sakkary, and Shafer out to get them a well-deserved hand of applause from the crowd. Goalkeeper McColl, a junior from Mission Viejo, CA, put the win away with 4 saves in the final frame and finished the match with 11 saves. ASU's Wallace finished with 9 saves.
The Cardinal will next travel to Los Angeles to take on No. 3 UCLA next Saturday at 1:00 PM. The two teams squared off earlier this season at the Gaucho Invitational (Feb. 26), with Stanford earning a 4-2 victory.
No. 2 Stanford (18-3) 6621=15
No. 10 ASU (12-11)2040=6
Stanford Goals: Hansen 4, El-Sakkary 2, Gregorka 2, Shafer 2, Champion 1, Gauthier 1, May 1, Silver 1, Steffens 1.
Stanford Saves: McColl 11.
ASU Goals: Lawlor 2, Webster 2, Buck 1, Doud 1.
ASU Saves: Wallace 9.