Oct. 17, 2009
STANFORD, Calif.- No. 13 Stanford rattled off a season-best 33 shot attempts and junior Xanthe Travlos posted the third hat trick by a Cardinal player this year, triggering an 11-1 rout of UC Davis on Saturday afternoon at the Varsity Turf.
The Cardinal improves to 12-2 overall, and is now two wins shy of matching the school record of 14 victories established back in 1997. Now 4-1 in NorPac competition, Stanford continues to lead the West Division and can clinch the regular season crown with a victory over California in the regular season finale next week.
This one was lopsided from the start, with Stanford scoring four times during the first 10 minutes and taking a 7-0 lead into the break.
Predictably, UC Davis (3-11, 0-4 NorPac), was overmatched from the start. The Aggies have struggled in their transition year as a Division I program, as the school last fielded an intercollegiate field hockey team in 1982. UC Davis boasts a roster consisting primarily of incoming freshmen, transfers from other Division I schools and former club players.
That figured to be a favorable matchup for Stanford, which boasts one of the top offenses in the country.
Stanford reached double-figures in goals for the first time since Oct. 20, 2007, when the Cardinal crushed Georgetown 10-2 in a neutral site contest. Meanwhile, Stanford's shot total was a season best and the club's most since attempting 36 against Appalachian State two years ago in the opening round of the NorPac Championship.
Junior Camille Gandhi and senior Midori Uehara scored two goals apiece while senior Nora Soza chipped in with three assists, increasing her team lead to 12.
Travlos, who found the cage on all three of her shot attempts, registered her second career hat trick and joined Uehara and senior Rachel Mozenter as the other Cardinal players to score at least three goals in a game this year.
Stanford led 4-0 before the game was 10 minutes old, with junior Jaimee Erickson, junior Katherine Donner, sophomore Stephanie Byrne and senior Marlana Shile all finding the cage early on to set the tone.
Uehara then scored back-to-back goals to give Stanford a 6-0 lead. Her first goal came unassisted at the 16:45 mark before tallying her 10th score of the year five minutes later thanks to one of two assists from freshman Becky Dru.
Travlos capped the scoring in the first period, making it 7-0 in the 25th minute as Stanford outshot UC Davis 20-3 in the opening stanza.
UC Davis changed goalkeepers to begin the second half, and for the first 10 minutes, replacement Conley Craven made a few nice saves to briefly keep Stanford out of the cage.
But Travlos' second goal in the 46th minute put Stanford ahead 8-0, and the Cardinal exploded with three more scores over the next 10 minutes.
The third goal for Travlos came in the 54th minute, sandwiched by two textbook penalty corner goals from Gandhi.
Liz Siemion helped UC Davis avoid the shutout when she scored unassisted at the 61:21 mark, dribbling through the Cardinal defense and converting on the Aggies' fourth shot attempt of the game up to that point.
Stanford owned a 10-5 edge in penalty corners.
Stanford hosts California on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. on Senior Night. The Cardinal will be looking to avenge a 4-3 upset loss in Berkeley last month.
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NOTES: Stanford is 5-0 at home and has won eight in a row at the Varsity Turf dating back to last year ... An appearance by the Stanford Band and Dollies energized the crowd of 278 in attendance ... For the eighth time this year, Stanford attempted at least 20 shots in a game ... Stanford swept the season series against UC Davis after also defeating the Aggies 5-1 back on Sept. 20 ... With its next score, Stanford will set a school record for most goals in a single season. The Cardinal has scored 59 goals this year, matching the previous best from 2007. Stanford is also closing in on single-season school records for assists (42), points (160) and shots (365). Through 14 games this year, the Cardinal has totaled 38 assists, 156 points and 270 shots ... This was the second hat trick for Xanthe Travlos. During her freshman season, she scored three goals in a 10-2 win over Georgetown ... Nora Soza (12) and Jaimee Erickson (10) are into double-figures for assists ... Stanford has outshot its opponents 270-94 this year. The Cardinal has attempted 131 shots in the first period and 137 in the second period.