Oct. 30, 2009
COLLEGE PARK, Md.- No. 1 Maryland posted its first-ever undefeated regular season in school history, improving to 18-0 with a 6-2 victory over No. 12 Stanford on Friday night in College Park, Md.
Despite the loss, Stanford (13-3, 5-1 NorPac) had reason to be pleased with its effort. The Cardinal was within striking distance at halftime, trailing only 3-2. And in a season of mostly blowout victories for defending national champion Maryland, Stanford became one of just five opponents to score more than one goal against the Terps.
Already assured of the No. 1 seed in next week's NorPac Championship after capturing the West Division regular season title with a 4-2 win over Cal last week, Stanford was playing the first game of a crucial road swing that concludes with a neutral site contest against No. 15 Louisville (10-7, 3-2 Big East) on Sunday at 9 a.m. PT.
On Friday night, Maryland played like a team is currently leading the nation in goals, points and assists per game.
The Terps held a 31-10 advantage in shots and a 12-6 edge in penalty corners.
Emma Thomas scored the first of her two goals in the seventh minute, giving Maryland a quick 1-0 lead.
Freshman Becky Dru knotted the game at 1-1 at the 14:07 mark, scoring off a penalty corner setup with assists from junior Jaimee Erickson and senior Nora Soza.
Thomas converted a penalty stroke in the 20th minute to put the Terps up 2-1.
Katie O'Donnell found the cage for a 3-1 lead at the 22:56 mark. She would go on to score the first goal of the second half, becoming the all-time career points leader in school history with 193.
Junior Xanthe Travlos scored her 10th goal of the year in the 29th minute thanks to an assist from Dru, bringing the Cardinal within 3-2 at intermission and providing a glimmer of hope for the second half.
But Maryland outscored Stanford 3-0 over the final 35 minutes to secure the win.
Stanford keeper Alessandra Moss made a season-best 12 saves in the loss.
One victory shy of matching the program record of 14 wins established back in 1997, Stanford now hopes for a split on a road trip that can help immensely in improving its NCAA Tournament profile.
NOTES: Stanford has never defeated the nation's No. 1-ranked team and its biggest win in school history was a 2-1 stunner over No. 3 Michigan State back on Aug. 31, 2001 ... Dru led Stanford with four shot attempts while Rachel Mozenter and Xanthe Travlos chipped in with two ... The penalty corner continues to be a weapon for Stanford, and Jaimee Erickson and Nora Soza have played key roles. Soza leads the club with 14 assists while Erickson has 12. Both players rank among the nation's leaders ... Stanford and Maryland have played three common opponents: Northwestern, Penn State and California. Maryland beat Northwestern on the road 7-2, routed Penn State 8-1 at home and blanked California 8-0 at home. Stanford won 3-1 at Northwestern, lost 3-1 at Penn State and split the season series against California (losing 4-3, winning 4-2) ... Stanford's six goals allowed were the most since suffering an 8-2 loss to No. 9 Princeton last year in an NCAA Play-In game ... Alessandra Moss has made at least 10 saves in a game four times in her career.