Feb. 10, 2008
Stanford Invitational Tournament Central
STANFORD, Calif. - No. 3 Stanford outscored its two opponents by a combined total of 21-12 Sunday afternoon at the Avery Aquatic Center en route to a pair of wins that secured a third-place finish at the Stanford Invitational. The Cardinal beat rival and fifth-ranked California, 11-6, in the morning opener before coming from behind to defeat No. 4 Hawai'i, 10-6, in the third-place game.
Junior Lauren Silver led the Cardinal with six goals on the day, including four against California, while teammates Kira Hillman (five goals) and Jacquelyn Gauthier (four goals) also had fine offensive outings. Freshman Amber Oland continued her strong play in the cage, making a combined 25 saves over the two victories.
Stanford opened the day at 8 a.m. against California in the final contest of Bracket B round-robin play. After a 2-2 first period, the Cardinal offense exploded for five goals in the second, with Hillman providing two of those goals, and Silver and Gauthier the others. Silver also managed to cash in on a pair of five-meter shots against the Golden Bears. The defense did its part as well, holding the Golden Bears scoreless in the period and allowing Stanford to build a 7-2 halftime lead.
The teams went on to trade a pair of goals each in the last two periods, while Oland anchored the defense with 12 saves. Stanford was fueled by its six extra-attacker goals and by Silver's two five-meter scores, while Koree Blyleven and Kelly Eaton also provided goals for the Cardinal.
Returning to action later in the afternoon, the Cardinal was caught on its heels early on against the Rainbow Wahine, falling behind 4-2 in the first period. But things slowed down, and the Cardinal were able to climb back into it, as Silver's 6-on-5 goal with a second left in the opening period cut the deficit to 4-3, giving Stanford valuable momentum.
Behind three 6-on-5 goals in the first half, Stanford was able to knot things up at 6-6 by halftime, then let the defense shine as it held Hawai'i scoreless in the second half to help secure the third-place finish. Hillman completed her hat trick with a third-period goal, freshman Allie Gerrity netted one, and a pair from Gauthier provided the margin of Stanford's 10-6 win.
California - 2 0 2 2 = 6
Stanford - 2 5 2 2 = 11
Stanford Goal Scorers: Silver 4, Blyleven 2, Gauthier 2, Hillman 2, Eaton
California Goal Scorers: Hayes 3, Anderson, Eadington, Lorenz
Goalie Saves: Oland 12 (S); Stuart 8 (C)
Third Place Game
Hawai'i - 4 2 0 0 = 6
Stanford - 3 3 3 1 = 10
Stanford Goal Scorers: Hillman 3, Eaton 2, Gauthier 2, Silver 2, Gerrity
Hawai'i Goal Scorers: Hanson-Swaner 2, Mujuri, Turnbull, Van Der Molen, van Raalte
Goalie Saves: Oland 13 (S); Bredin 6 (UH)