Sept. 10, 2010
KENT, OHIO- No. 19 Stanford grabbed an early lead and never looked back, defeating Kent State 3-1 on Friday morning in the first contest of a three-game, four-day road swing.
The Cardinal (3-1, 2-0 NorPac) received goals from three different players and held the Golden Flashes (2-3, 0-0 MAC) scoreless until the 63rd minute of the game.
Stanford tallied only nine shots and three penalty corners, but managed to convert on those chances in an efficient victory. Four days ago in a 3-2 loss to No. 7 Michigan State, it was almost the opposite as Stanford statistically dominated the contest but was unable to execute at key points.
Kent State, four spots out of the top-20 in this week's national poll after shocking No. 8 Syracuse last week, held a 10-9 advantage in shots while also owning a 5-3 edge in penalty corners.
Stanford built a 2-0 halftime lead and tacked on an insurance goal shortly after intermission before Kent State got on the board with less than eight minutes remaining.
Stephanie Byrne put the Cardinal up 1-0 in the 17th minute, scoring unassisted on a putback from seven yards out following an attempted save.
At the 23:07 mark, Becky Dru added her third goal of the year when she scored of a textbook penalty corner with assists from Jaimee Erickson and Camille Gandhi. Two of Dru's three goals this season have come off penalty corners.
Xanthe Travlos scored unassisted on a loose ball from four yards out in the 47th minute, putting Stanford comfortably in front 3-0.
Kent State's Rebecca Lee scored unassisted at the 62:09 mark to make it 3-1.
Stanford will face Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 11, in a neutral site match at 10 a.m. PT to be played in Kent, Ohio.
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NOTES: A big part of Stanford's recent success has been the ability to win on the road. The Cardinal is 2-0 away from home so far this year and finished 7-4 last season in road games. Prior to 2009, Stanford had not produced a winning record on the road since a 4-3 mark in 2002 and was just 6-14 combined in road games from 2006-08 ... 11 different players have scored at least one goal for Stanford this year, a reflection of the type of balance head coach Tara Danielson is hoping for ... Alessandra Moss held Kent State scoreless over the first 46 minutes, making four saves. Julia LaSalvia played the remainder of the contest and made one stop ... For the first time this season, Stanford's opponent held the edge in shot attempts and penalty corners ... Stanford has been issued four yellow cards already this year. That total is higher than the last three years combined (3).