April 24, 2009
STANFORD, Calif. - Freshman reserve Anna Boeri tied a Stanford single-game record with five assists to highlight the Cardinal's 17-3 victory over UC Davis in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women's lacrosse semifinals Friday at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
Stanford (11-4), the four-time defending champion, moves on to its 11th consecutive conference final. The Cardinal will play California, a 10-9 winner over Oregon, in the championship final at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the same site.
Boeri, from Phoenix, Md., had totaled only two assists all season until matching the record set by Kelsey Twist against UC Davis in 2005 and tied this season by teammate Claire Hubbard against William and Mary on March 8.
"She's a player I'm looking to coaching for four years," Stanford coach Amy Bokker said. "She has great vision on the field, and that's something you can't teach."
Nesbitt supplied passes on two of Leslie Foard's three goals. Foard tied her collegiate high and matched junior reserve Amanda Schwab and sophomore Karen Nesbitt for game-high goal-scoring honors, with three apiece. Including two goals each by Sarah Flynn, Dana Lindsay and Maggie Sachs, six Stanford players scored multiple goals.
"My teammates had some great cuts," Boeri said. "There was great movement out there, so I was able to see all of our options. The movement helps me find the cutters, and it makes it so much easier to see the open girl."
Stanford scored only 17 seconds into the game, on a pass from Julie Christy to Flynn. Barely eight minutes into the game, Stanford already had an 8-1 lead.
UC Davis (5-11), the No. 5 seed, had been the surprise of the MPSF quarterfinals on Thursday, shocking preseason conference favorite Denver, 16-14. Though top-seeded Stanford had beaten the Aggies 20-3 earlier this season, Bokker cautioned against overconfidence.
"We were focused on being disciplined on the defensive end, and using our legs on the offensive end," Bokker said.
"We wanted to make sure we didn't overlook anybody," Boeri said. "We made sure we treated them with respect."
The next phase will be a matchup against rival Cal (8-10), which lost to Stanford 13-4 during the regular season.
"We're excited," Bokker said. "Getting to the final has been a goal for us all season. And there's no better matchup than Stanford-Cal."
Stanford, ranked No. 14 in the nation, extended a pair of winning streaks: 11 consecutive victories in MPSF tournament play and 10 consecutive in tournament and regular season combined. This will be the sixth time Stanford and Cal have met in a conference final. Stanford has won four of the five previous contests.
MPSF Semifinals
At Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, Stanford
Stanford 17, UC Davis 3
UC Davis 2 1 - 3
Stanford 13 4 - 17
UCD - Britt Farquharson (2 goals, 0 assists), Molly Lapolla (1-0), Christina Corsa (0-2).
S - Karen Nesbitt (3-1), Leslie Foard (3-0), Amanda Schwab (3-0), Sarah Flynn (2-0), Dana Lindsay (2-0), Maggie Sachs (2-0), Jamie Nesbitt (1-1), Maria Fortino (1-0), Anna Boeri (0-5), Lauren Schmidt (0-3), Julie Christy (0-2).
Goalkeepers - UCD: Alyssa Cranska 40:20, 16 GA, 7 saves; Kjersten Nordmeyer 19:40, 1 GA, 1 save. S: Annie Read 60:00, 3 GA, 6 saves.
Records - Stanford 11-4, UC Davis 5-11.
Other score: California 10, Oregon 9
Championship final: California at Stanford, Sunday (1 p.m.).