April 27, 2007
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This Week
The Stanford University women's lacrosse team finishes up the regular season this Sunday at Boston University. The Cardinal take on the Terriers at 9:00 a.m. (PDT) at Nickerson Field. BU is 10-5 overall and leads the America East with a 5-1 conference record. The Cardinal is looking to continue its two-game winning streak and head into the MPSF Tournament on a high-note. Stanford topped Cal 11-8 on Senior Day at Maloney Field last week, before routing UC Davis 17-4 on Tuesday.
April 29th - Nickerson Field - Boston, MA
Stanford (6-7/3-2) vs. Boston University (10-5/5-1 America East) - 9:00 AM (PDT)
Scouting The Terriers
BU enters the weekend sporting a 10-5 overall record and leading the America East Conference, going 5-1 in league play. The Terriers are coming off of a 17-8 win over then-No. 18 Dartmouth on Wednesday. BU is led by a quartet of scorers, including points leader senior midfield Angie Martin whose 51 points and 20 assists rank fifth in the America East. Joining Martin atop the Terriers leader board are sophomore midfield Sarah Dalton, freshman midfield Traci Landy and junior midfield Lauren Morton. The four have combined to score 136 of the Terriers 190 goals and 63 percent of their points this season.
On the Horizon
Following Sunday's tie with the Terriers, the Cardinal returns to California to compete in the 2007 MPSF Tournament. UC Davis plays host to this year's tournament, which will feature No. 16 Denver as the No. 1 seed. The Pioneers clinched the No. 1 seed last week, while Oregon is seeded No. 2 in just its third season in the conference. A Cal win at Denver this weekend will leave the Bears and Stanford tied for third in the MPSF standings, but after last weekend's win, the Cardinal own the tie-breaker, giving it the No. 3 seed. The quarterfinals begin on May 4 at Aggie Stadium.
So Far This Season
The Cardinal began the 2007 season on the road at Oregon on February 10. For the first time since the 2000 season, Stanford opened the season with a loss, dropping a 10-6 decision to the Ducks. The Cardinal bounced back with a 22-6 rout of Saint Mary's to earn their first win of the season and first league victory on February 16. Stanford followed the win with a 14-8 loss to No. 2 Duke and a tought 12-11 double overtime loss at Notre Dame. The losing streak continued when the Cardinal returned home, dropping a 16-10 decision to UConn and a 10-9 decision to James Madison before breaking out of the losing streak last week with a 10-9 win over Colgate. Stanford went 2-1 on its three-game road trip, topping both Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt and dropping a 15-7 loss to Maryland. Most recently, Stanford dropped a 12-8 decision to then-No. 16 Denver and had its game at Cornell canceled due to weather conditions. After the week off, Stanford got back on strack winning two straight games over MPSF opponents Cal and UC Davis. The Cardinal has had three players named MPSF Player of the Week this season in freshman midfielder Lauren Schmidt, junior goalkeeper Laura Shane and freshman midfield Julie Christy.
Maloney Field Farewell for Fantastic Four
There's no question that Senior Day honorees attack Michelle DeChant, defender Rachel Dyke, midfield Bryanne Gilkinson and midfield Liz Piselli will leave some big shoes to fill upon their departure from the Stanford lineup. The four have combined to make 205 appearances with 143 starts over the past four years. Piselli is currently third all-time in the record books with 90 career draw controls, while DeChant is tied for sixth in the single game record book for goals in a game with five against Ohio State last season. Gilkinson has started nearly every game she has played in for the Cardinal, making 35 starts in 45 games played. The group has tallied 32 total starts this season, helping to solidify and lead a roster that features 18 underclassmen.
Conference Domination
Even with the season opening loss to Oregon, Head Coach Michele Uhlfelder (78-43, .645) has led Stanford on a streak of overwhelming conference domination. Including this season's 3-2 record in MPSF play, Uhlfelder has lost just three regular season conference matches and has garnered five conference championships. Since joining the MPSF in 2003, the team has captured every regular season title and three tournament championships. Notably, Stanford has faced California in three of four MPSF Tournament championship games, claiming victory in two out of three. The MPSF is a young and growing west coast conference. Last season marked the first time that Cal has not reached the tournament championship game since Stanford joined the conference. In 2006, the Cardinal defeated Denver 12-6 to take home the tournament title.
Christy Shares MPSF Player of the Week
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) named Julie Christy as its women's lacrosse Co-Player of the Week for the week of April 3. The freshman midfield tallied two goals and dished out the game-winning assist in the Cardinal's 10-9 upset of No. 12 Vanderbilt. Christy fed fellow freshman Dana Lindsay from behind the net for the game-winner on Saturday. The win was Stanford's first over a ranked opponent this season. The Malvern, PA native also accounted for Stanford's lone assist in a 15-7 loss to No. 3 Maryland. Christy shared the award with Denver senior Kristie Leggio who set new Pioneer single-game records with seven assists and 13 points in a win over Harvard. She finished the week with 23 points week on 10 goals and 13 assists in three games and became the school's all-time leader in assists with 65 in just a year and a half.
Topping the Charts
As the all-time leader in goalkeeper minutes played and save percentage, Laura Shane is no stranger to broken records. Entering the season, Shane needed to make just 51 saves to become the new career saves leader at Stanford. With her fifth save of the game in the loss to UConn, Shane broke the saves record of 459 previously held by Stephanie Tuerk and set from 1997-99. A Baltimore native, Shane went on to make 11 saves against the Huskies and has since pushed her career saves number to 561, collecting 20 saves over her last two outings against Cal and UC Davis. Shane also broke Stanford's career games played record of 43 for goalkeepers with her start against Virginia Tech.
First Timers
With the loss of attacks Megan Burker and Sarah Bach and midfielder Nyerr Parham to graduation last year, there was plenty of room for the Cardinal's 11 freshmen, all of whom are attackers and midfielders, to step up and contribute immediately. With team scoring leader Lauren Schmidt proving herself as an everyday starter and several other newcomers becoming valuable substitutions, the Cardinal freshmen are making their presence felt this year. Including Schmidt's 21 goals and 28 points, Stanford freshmen have contributed 47 goals, 20 assists and 46 draw controls through 13 games.
Moving On Up
A few Stanford players are moving up the ranks in the Cardinal career record book this season. Senior midfielder Liz Piselli's eight assists this season give her 30 in her career, moving her into a tie for seventh place all-time. Piselli is just eight assists away from reaching the top five in that category, while her 90 career draw controls rank third all-time. Junior goalkeeper Laura Shane notched her 44th career game against Colgate, giving her the Stanford goalkeepers record. Shane also holds the Cardinal record for minutes played in goal at 2858:50.