Feb. 10, 2007
Eugene, Ore. - For the first time since 2000 the Stanford women's lacrosse team opened the season with a loss, dropping a 10-6 decision on the road at Oregon on Saturday morning. The loss ended a five-game winning streak the Cardinal had compiled against Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponents, dating back to March of 2006. Stanford is now 0-1 overall and 0-1 in MPSF play.
Playing in wet and muddy conditions, the Ducks and Cardinal exchanged goals over the first 22 minutes, with senior attacker Michelle DeChant scoring two of Stanford's four first-half goals. Oregon took a 4-2 lead with 11:36 remaining before halftime, but DeChant and freshman midfielder Lauren Schmidt scored 1:30 apart to even the score at four with 8:11 left.
Just 12 seconds later, however, the Ducks pulled ahead on a goal from sophomore midfielder Alison Leiner which jump started a 6-0 Oregon run that would carry into the second half. Sophomore attacker Ilsa van den Berg's goal with under a minute remaining in the first half gave the Ducks momentum heading into the break.
Oregon came out of the locker room with energy, scoring two goals in the first six minutes to take a commanding 8-4 lead. By the end of their scoring run, the Ducks held a six-goal lead with 12:42 left in the game.
Despite 10 shots from the Cardinal in the second half, the Oregon defense held strong until the 7:52 mark when Schmidt broke a 30-minute scoreless drought with an unassisted goal to bring the score to 10-5. Junior attack Daphne Patterson scored on an assist from Schmidt to close the gap to four with 7:03 left, but that would end the scoring for the Cardinal.
Oregon's sophomore goalie Anna Poponyak needed just five saves to record the win, while Stanford goalkeeper Laura Shane faced 16 shots on goal and 23 shots in all, recording six saves in the loss.
Both DeChant and Schmidt recorded two goals apiece, while Patterson and senior midfielder Liz Piselli each scored once to round out the scoring for the Cardinal.
Stanford returns to action in its second consecutive road game on Friday, traveling across the Bay to face Saint Mary's in an MPSF conference game. The matchup is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Saint Mary's Stadium in Moraga.