Nov. 7, 2008
Oct. 24, 2008: Cal Prevails 2-1 In Berkeley... | ...Nov. 1, 2008: Stanford Wins 2-1 OT Thriller At Home
Looking Back At 2007: Stanford Bests Cal 3-1 In NorPac Tourney Title Match Gandhi Top Player, Byrne Top Rookie As Cardinal Dominates All-NorPac Picks
STANFORD, Calif.- Focused on bottling up junior Midori Uehara after a four-shot, four-goal effort in the team's first meeting back in September, Pacific found out that Stanford is dangerous even without a contribution from its leading scorer.
Instead, freshman Stephanie Byrne scored twice and tallied a game-high five shots and sophomore Jaimee Erickson added a goal as Stanford defeated Pacific 3-2 on Friday afternoon in the semifinal round of the NorPac Tournament in Farmville, Va.
The victory puts Stanford (8-10, 4-2 NorPac) back in the championship game as the Cardinal looks to defend its 2007 NorPac Tournament title. No. 16 California (13-4, 5-1 NorPac) will be Stanford's opponent, as the Golden Bears easily handled host Longwood 5-1 in Friday's other semifinal. Stanford and California will oppose each other in Saturday's title match in an 11:30 a.m. PT start.
A Stanford-California NorPac Tournament final has become an annual occurrence. Stanford defeated California 3-1 in last year's title match for its first conference tournament championship since 2000. Two years ago, California scored a 3-1 victory in the tournament final. The Golden Bears have won 19 of the last 21 meetings overall.
The NorPac Tournament champion earns a spot in Tuesday's NCAA play-in game against No. 11 Princeton (14-2, Ivy League champion). That game will be played in Princeton, N.J., and begin at 10 a.m. PT. The winner of that contest then qualifies for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Defeating Pacific (6-11, 3-3 NorPac) for the third time this year (7-0 on Sept. 27 and 2-1 on Oct. 26 in a stroke-off), Stanford held a 13-8 shot edge but was on the short end in penalty corners at 5-2.
And despite Uehara being limited to just one shot attempt, the Cardinal was still sharp offensively.
The 2008 NorPac Rookie of the Year, Byrne gave Stanford a 1-0 lead at the 17:32 mark when she took a pass from senior Bailey Richardson, broke free through the defense and beat Pacific keeper Kelly Miller.
Two minutes into the second period, Stanford extended its lead to 2-0 when Erickson scored her third goal of the year following an assist from junior Jennifer Luther.
Pacific bounced back two minutes later with an unassisted goal from Rachel Taylor to cut Stanford's lead to 2-1.
But in the 42nd minute, Byrne found the cage again, this time off a one-touch pass from sophomore Camille Gandhi. It was the 10th assist of the year for Gandhi, who has now registered the most assists in a single-season since Tina Syer dished out 18 helpers back in 1994.
Pacific's Lisa Muhl scored at the 43:43 mark to slice the lead to 3-2.
Redshirt freshman keeper Alessandra Moss made four saves for the Cardinal.