Feb. 2, 2008
The Stanford women's lacrosse team opened the 2008 season on Saturday with a resounding 14-6 win over LeMoyne College at Artificial Turf Field on the campus of Stanford University. The Cardinal (1-0, 0-0 MPSF) were led by senior attacker Daphne Patterson, who tied a school record by scoring six goals in the contest. Senior Laura Shane was once again a stalwart in net, only allowing six goals to the defending MAAC champions and recording eight saves.
The Cardinal controlled the flow of the game for the most part and put lots of heat on Dolphins goalkeeper Samantha Falcone. The Cardinal took 37 shots on the day and forced Falcone into making 17 saves. Patterson took 10 shots on goal and sophomore Dana Lindsay took seven.
The game got off to an rocky start for the Cardinal when they allowed the first two goals of the game to the Dolphins. LeMoyne scored at the 23:46 mark and 19:55 mark of the half to get out to a quick 2-0 lead.
Stanford quickly responded, though, with three goals of their own to recapture the lead. Junior midfielder Jamie Nesbitt started the 2008 scoring for Stanford with a goal at the 12:10 on a free position shot attempt. Lindsay responded 50 seconds later with a goal of her own that was assisted by Claire Hubbard. Hubbard then scored a goal only 13 seconds later and within one minute the Cardinal had taken a two goal deficit and turned it into a one goal lead.
LeMoyne tied the score five minutes later, but Patterson got her scoring going by finding the net with 1:16 before the halftime break. The Cardinal held the one goal edge as the teams prepared for the final 30 minutes.
While the first half was hotly contested, the second got out of hand very quickly as the Cardinal went on a six-goal onslaught, after LeMoyne initially tied the score at four. Patterson scored her second goal on a free position attempt and Lindsay scored her second goal to give Stanford a 6-4 lead.
On a day when many seniors stepped up, senior Megan McLain scored the next Cardinal goal, once again on a free position attempt. Patterson then followed with two more goals and the rout was on, with the Cardinal controlling a 10-5 lead. Freshman Sarah Flynn found the net for the first time in her Cardinal career and after two more Patterson goals, the lead had ballooned to 13-5. Amanda Schwab added her first goal of the season with 0:53 seconds left, and the Cardinal finished off the game with a 14-6 victory. In a very physical game, nine yellow cards were called on the two teams combined.
Stanford will return to the field when they take on MPSF rival Oregon on Friday, Feb. 8 at 7:00 p.m. under the lights. The Cardinal defeated the Ducks in the MPSF conference semifinal last season, en route to their third consecutive MPSF championship in 2007.