Oct. 29, 2010
BERKELEY, Calif.- Stanford scored twice in the final 10 minutes to notch a 4-2 win over California on Friday night in the regular season finale for both teams.
In addition to picking up its first victory in Berkeley since Nov. 1, 1998, Stanford (11-5, 5-1 NorPac) secured a share of the NorPac's West Division regular season title. The season series was split, as California (8-8, 5-1 NorPac) had already won the earlier meeting back in September.
However, Stanford has earned the West Division's No. 1 seed for next week's NorPac Championship in Davidson, N.C., because of a third tiebreaker that applies the aggregate score of the tied teams.
So the Cardinal ends the regular season on a positive note, and will attempt to capture its fourth consecutive conference tournament championship next week.
The victory over California should not come as a surprise, as Stanford has won six of the last nine meetings overall. But it had been 12 years since the Cardinal had prevailed on the Golden Bears' home turf, making Friday's result that much more special.
Stanford held advantages in shots (16-12) and penalty corners (12-5), received goals from four different players and relied on a terrific performance from Alessandra Moss in goal to clinch the win.
California broke through first in the 12th minute, as Shannon Elmitt made it 1-0 following a right-side assist from Erin Magill near the cage.
At the 18:54 mark, Hope Burke evened the contest at 1-1 when she tipped a loose ball through a crowd in the circle on a pass from Becky Dru.
Emily Henriksson put Stanford in front 2-1 in the 35th minute, scoring unassisted on a long shot to make it 2-1 right before halftime.
In the 44th minute, Megan Shimojima's goal put California back in the game and tied the match at 2-2.
But goals from Becky Dru and Xanthe Travlos in a two-minute span late in the contest pushed Stanford past California 4-2. Dru knocked home her team-leading eighth goal of the year on a textbook penalty corner before Travlos scored unassisted on a shot from the top of the circle.
Dru led all players with six shots.
Moss matched a season-high with eight saves to keep California in check.
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NOTES: For the sixth time this year, at least four different Stanford players scored a goal ... Stanford has finished with a 5-1 record in NorPac play in four of the last five seasons ... Alessandra Moss also made eight saves in a 2-1 loss at No. 1 North Carolina back in September ... Stanford was playing its first game as an unranked team since last September ... Hope Burke leads all Cardinal freshmen with four goals. Even more impressive, she has attempted only eight shots ... Stanford has scored 50 goals on the year ... California was celebrating its Senior Night.