Feb. 7, 2009
EUGENE, Ore. - After falling behind early, the Stanford women's lacrosse team scored 15 unanswered goals to beat Oregon, 17-5, in a season opener for both teams.
No. 18 Stanford, the four-time defending Mountain Pacific Sports Federation champion, was led by junior Dana Lindsay, who scored four goals and had two assists in the afternoon conference game that was played with temperatures in the low-40s.
Stanford fell behind 3-1 in the first eight minutes, but Lindsay's free-position goal ignited a Cardinal flurry. It was the first of eight goals on free-position shots in 11 attempts.
Karen Nesbitt put Stanford ahead for good, at 4-3, with an unassisted goal with 17:09 left in the first half. Though Stanford was held without another score for the next 12 minutes, another Lindsay free-position goal began a four-goal flurry within a 3:18 span just before halftime to break the game open, at 8-3.
"We just needed time to settle in," said coach Amy Bokker, who won her Stanford debut. "Even when we fell behind, we seemed to control the tempo of the game. We were never really worried."
The Stanford defense shut out the Ducks for a stretch of nearly 42 minutes. Among the backline standouts was freshman defender Paige Farmakis in her first collegiate game and veteran Maris Perlman, who was an instigator in forcing turnovers and sparking the offense.
"Our athleticism and depth really worked to our advantage," Bokker said. "Our defense really helped to open up our offense, and that's our game."
Lauren Schmidt had three goals and an assist for Stanford, which also got seven saves from sophomore goalie Annie Read, making her first collegiate start.
Stanford plays its home opener Thursday at 7 p.m. against first-year program Fresno State at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.