April 11, 2009
BERKELEY, Calif. - For the second week in a row, No. 1 Stanford (22-1, 6-0 MPSF)bounced back from a slow start to roar past another MPSF opponent. Saturday night, it was No. 5 California (28-5, 3-4 MPSF) which felt the impact, as Cardinal seniors Kira Hillman and Lauren Silver posted hat tricks in Stanford's 9-8 Big Splash victory in Berkeley.
Along with Hillman and Silver's hat tricks, the Cardinal also got goals from Koree Blyleven, Kim Krueger and Melissa Seidemann.
Amber Oland stopped 10 shots while patrolling the cage, coming up especially big in the fourth period, when she allowed just one Golden Bear goal.
Just like last week, the Cardinal fell behind in the opening period, spotting the Golden Bears three straight goals over the game's first eight minutes.
But Stanford would snap out of its funk upon the start of the second period, as Hillman got the Cardinal on the board just 27 seconds into the frame with a shot that barred down over the goal line. Silver would get the next goal on a five-meter penalty shot, bringing the Cardinal to within one at 3-2.
California would double its lead right away, though, as Camille Hewko found the back of the cage to put the Golden Bears up 4-2. The teams would stalemate for the next few minutes until Hillman broke through once more, skipping a shot into the cage with 1:55 left in the first half. After trading another pair of goals, Stanford would equalize with three seconds left in the half thanks to Seidemann's efforts in front of the cage.
Hillman gave the Cardinal its first lead of the contest with 5:54 left in the third quarter, but the teams would then trade goals twice more until it was 7-7 late in the period. Stanford would get some much-needed breathing room in the final minute, as Krueger and Silver notched scores in back-to-back possessions to give the Cardinal a 9-7 lead heading into the final frame.
There, the two defenses took center stage, as the game stayed at 9-7 until California's Remy Champion scored with about four minutes remaining to pull the Golden Bears within a goal. Yet the Stanford defense would dig in over the final four minutes, keeping California out of the cage and locking down its 19th consecutive victory.
Stanford now heads into the regular-season finale with an undefeated 6-0 mark in MPSF play, and will travel to Los Angeles next Saturday for a much-anticipated clash with No. 2 USC. Saturday's winner will lay claim to the MPSF regular-season title as well as the top seed in the MPSF Tournament in two weeks.
Stanford - 0 5 4 0 = 9
California - 3 2 2 1 = 8
Stanford Goal Scorers: Hillman 3, Silver 3, Blyleven, Krueger, Seidemann
California Goal Scorers: Corso 2, Scully 2, Champion, Hewko, Lorenz, Schnugg
Goalie Saves: Oland 10 (S); Peckham 10 (C)