Sept. 20, 2009
STANFORD, Calif.- Senior Rachel Mozenter's hat trick paced a dominating offensive attack and No. 14 Stanford coasted to a 5-1 victory over UC Davis on Sunday afternoon, improving to 7-0 while matching the 1976 squad for the best start in school history.
Idle for the past week, Stanford (7-0, 1-0 Nor Pac) showed no signs of rust following a 3-2 overtime win at No. 17 Iowa last Sunday. Instead, the Cardinal looked every bit like a nationally-ranked team after cracking this week's top-20 poll for the first time in two years.
Sunday's conference opener for both teams pitted the two-time defending tournament champion, Stanford, against UC Davis (3-5, 0-1 NorPac), a new addition to the league this year in the West division. The Aggies received anything but a warm welcome.
Mozenter entered the game with three goals this year and matched that output late in the second period when she found the cage for her third score. Mozenter's hat trick was the first by a Stanford player since Midori Uehara's four-goal performance against Pacific last September. Mozenter's feat was even more impressive considering she entered the game as a reserve.
Stanford outshot UC Davis 26-6 and held a 17-1 advantage in penalty corners. Mozenter and junior Xanthe Travlos led all players with five shots apiece while Uehara added four attempts.
The Cardinal took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute following a one-timer from Mozenter for her first goal of the match.
Three minutes later, junior Katherine Donner scored her first goal of the season to give Stanford a 2-0 halftime edge.
Mozenter scored her second and third goals during a five-minute span in the second half, increasing Stanford's lead to 4-0. Her first goal came at the 52:50 mark, when she took a short pass from freshman Kelsey Lloyd inside the circle and converted for a score. At the 57:29 mark, Mozenter was set up by sophomore Stephanie Byrne following a 2-on-1 opportunity.
UC Davis erased the shutout bid with 10 minutes remaining, when Lindsey Valadez took a pass from Rachel Sabes and scored off the Aggies' only penalty corner attempt.
Uehara rounded out the scoring in the 67th minute, scoring off a deflection when she lifted a shot past UC Davis keeper Lauren Sawvelle.
Stanford netminder Alessandra Moss made two saves.
Stanford hosts Pacific on Friday, Sept. 25, in its next match, returning to the Varsity Turf for the first time in three weeks. The contest is scheduled for 7 p.m., representing the second of three night games to be played at the facility this year.
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NOTES: Stanford's seven-game winning streak is tied for the second-best stretch in school history. The school record is nine consecutive wins, which the Cardinal recorded from Oct. 9-Nov. 8 during the 1985 campaign ... Over the last five years, Stanford has compiled an 18-6 record in NorPac regular-season competition ... Thanks to today's performance, Mozenter is now the team leader in goals (6) and points (12). She has scored 24 career goals and has tallied at least six scores in a season three times ... Stanford has now outscored its opponents 13-2 in the first period this year ... Jaimee Erickson, the reigning NorPac Offensive Player of the Week, was held without a shot attempt for the first time this year ... Instead of the traditional seven-team alignment, the NorPac conference now includes eight schools and is split into two divisions with a true round-robin format. Stanford, UC Davis, California and Pacific comprise the West division while Appalachian State, Davidson, Longwood and Radford make up the East division.