Feb. 28, 2009
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Stanford traded goals early, but Notre Dame used a four-goal first-half run to take control and was never threatened thereafter in a 17-8 women's lacrosse victory over the Cardinal on Saturday.
Lauren Schmidt scored 2:19 into the game to get Stanford on the board and the Cardinal was tied 2-2 until a Notre Dame scoring barrage that brought the score up to 9-3 by halftime.
No. 16 Stanford (4-2) got two goals from Julie Christy and a goal and an assist each from Karen Nesbitt, Claire Hubbard and Schmidt. No. 12 Notre Dame (3-1) got four goals and an assist from Gina Scioscia and three goals from Shaylyn Blaney.
"It was a really physical game," Stanford coach Amy Bokker said. "I felt that we needed to be a little bit tougher. Everybody's scoring and we have different threats, that's a positive. But we need to get more physical to allow ourselves to take advantage of our skills."
Stanford has outstanding quickness and athleticism, but remains in the discovery stage of how to take advantage of those skills against teams that play certain styles, such as against bigger and physical teams. The Syracuse game last Friday, a 15-10 loss, was another example.
"We're quick and definitely athletic, but those are things we need to use more to our advantage," Bokker said. "We're also a very unselfish team. I think we also need to try to be a little more selfish."
The nine-goal margin represented the biggest loss Stanford has suffered this season, as Notre Dame reversed a 13-9 loss at Stanford last season.
"We didn't play our game," Bokker said. "Against a team like Notre Dame, you need to bring it every moment."
Notre Dame 17, Stanford 8
Stanford 3 5 -- 8
Notre Dame 9 8 -- 17
Stanford
SCORING: GOALS: Christy, Julie 2; Nesbitt, Karen 1; Schmidt,Lauren 1; Hubbard, Claire 1; Nesbitt, Jamie 1; Schwab, Amanda 1;Flynn, Sarah 1.
ASSISTS: Hubbard, Claire 1; Nesbitt, Karen 1; Schmidt, Lauren 1.
Notre Dame
SCORING: GOALS: Byers, Jillian 5; Scioscia, Gina 4; BLANEY,Shaylyn 3; Tamasitis, Maggie 1; Stewart, Ansley 1; Abt, Kailene 1;Doherty, Jackie 1; Koloup, Beth 1.
ASSISTS: Tamasitis, Maggie 2; Scioscia, Gina 1; Stewart, Ansley 1.
Records -- Stanford 3-2, Notre Dame 3-1.