April 11, 2008
STANFORD, Calif. - Twenty combined ejections, 20 combined saves, a close, bruising, and vicious rivalry unfolding underneath the Avery Stadium lights could only mean one thing: Stanford and California were battling in The Big Splash. It ended up being the second-ranked Cardinal (21-3, 9-1 MPSF) that emerged victorious from the tangle, scoring a 6-5 decision over the sixth-ranked Golden Bears (15-9, 6-6 MPSF) to run its season-long winning streak to nine games.
Kira Hillman posted a hat trick with three goals to pace Stanford, while Kelly Eaton, Lauren Silver, and Heather West added scores for the Cardinal.
Yet defense came up biggest for Stanford Friday night, in the form of freshman goalkeeper Amber Oland, who weathered a Golden Bear flurry to stop 13 shots and limit California to just five goals on the night.
The tone of the tightly-contested battle was set right from the start, as Hillman and Silver were called for their first ejections of the game within three seconds of each other in the game's opening minute. The Golden Bears capitalized as Molly Hayes converted the extra-attacker opportunity at 7:14 of the first period.
Stanford would storm back just 14 seconds later as West found the back of the cage to even things up, but the defense then took the stage for the next five and a half minutes, keeping the game tied at 1-1 until Hillman broke through for her first goal of the contest and a 2-1 Cardinal lead with 1:38 to go.
California bounced back with a pair of goals in the second frame, as it traded goals from Stephanie Schnugg and Meghan Corso 2-for-1 with a Hillman goal for Stanford at the 3:43 mark to leave the game tied 3-3 at the break. Corso's equalizer came on a five-meter penalty after drawing the foul on Stanford's Allie Gerrity.
After the defenses took turns thwarting any scoring chances for much of the third period, the Cardinal re-asserted itself in the final two minutes. Eaton started the momentum with a score with 1:54 left, then Silver followed up just 35 seconds later to give the Cardinal a two-goal advantage heading into the final period.
There, Paige Lorenz halved the Stanford lead with a goal 49 seconds into the fourth period. Stanford would answer with Hillman's third goal of the contest, a 6-on-5 score with 5:27 left to play. Although the Golden Bears would get to within one following Camille Hewko's goal with 3:28 to play, Oland and the Cardinal defense would dig in and hold the bears off the rest of the way en route to the victory.
Stanford returns to action Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. contest against No. 8 UC Irvine, which also serves as Senior Day. The team will honor graduating seniors Jacquelyn Gauthier and Megan Nesland prior to their final regular-season home game.
California - 1 2 0 2 = 5
Stanford - 2 1 2 1 = 6
Stanford Goal Scorers: Hillman 3, Eaton, Silver, West
California Goal Scorers: Corso, Hayes, Hewko, Lorenz, Schnugg
Goalie Saves: Oland 13 (S); Stuart 7 (C)