March 8, 2009
STANFORD, Calif. - Lauren Schmidt scored six goals and Claire Hubbard had five assists to tie Stanford single-game records in the Cardinal's 18-9 nonconference women's lacrosse victory over No. 20 William and Mary on Sunday at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
Schmidt, a junior who missed all of last season with a knee injury, tied a goal-scoring mark held by six others in the 15-year history of the program. And Hubbard, also a junior, matched the mark set by Kelsey Twist against UC Davis on Feb. 20, 2005.
In addition, Sarah Flynn scored five goals to help the Cardinal improve to 6-2 with its first victory over a ranked opponent in three tries this season. The goal totals from Schmidt and Flynn were the two highest by Stanford this season.
The performance, which comes as Stanford heads into a three-week break from competition because of Dead Week and finals, was the team's best of the season, coach Amy Bokker said.
"The attackers were playing with so much confidence," Bokker said. "A lot of that has to do with Claire Hubbard. If you draw the defenders, your teammates will make you look good, and Claire Hubbard made everyone look good today."
Hubbard, who usually stations herself behind the opponent's goal and runs the attack from there, was exceptional at finding the open teammate. She has 14 assists this year, one off her single-season high.
Schmidt, the team scoring leader with 27 points (17 goals, 10 assists), said the six goals were the most she has scored in a game at any level.
"It was one of those days," Schmidt said. "It was one of the first games where our team was in synch with each other. Everybody was on the same page."
Evident in her ability to blow past defenders was that Schmidt is fully recovered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered during a Stanford fall game in 2007.
"I feel really good," she said. "My defense was awful when I came back. I was definitely rusty and had to get used to all these new players. This was one of the first games where I felt really in tune with everyone."
Dana Lindsay, who is tied with Schmidt for the team lead in goals (17), broke a 3-3 tie with goals 2:05 apart in the first half and Schmidt followed with another to give Stanford a 6-3 lead it would not relinquish. Schmidt added four in the second half and Flynn had three.
"The great thing about Schmitty is she goes 100 mph the whole time," Bokker said. "You know you're always going to get her best effort.
"She and Flynn are so different. Schmidt is explosive and beats defenders one on one. And Flynn is a receiver and can score as well. It's a great balance."
William and Mary, which got three goals from Grace Golden and two from Julia Martin, a former standout at nearby Menlo School, dropped to 2-3.
"There was a flow to our game," said Bokker, whose team's next game is March 27 at No. 14 Johns Hopkins. "Everyone was playing together. I feel like we found our rhythm."
STANFORD 18, WILLIAM AND MARY 18
William and Mary 5 4 - 9
Stanford 8 10 - 18
William and Mary (goals-assists): Golden (3-1), Martin (2-1), Anderson (2-0), Wannen (1-0), Dennis (1-0), Jonson (0-1).
Stanford: Schmidt (6-0), Flynn (5-0), Lindsay (3-1), K. Nesbitt (2-1), Christy (1-0), Schwab (1-0), Hubbard (0-5), E. Boeri (0-1), Siegfried (0-1).
Records: Stanford 6-2, William and Mary (2-3).