Nov. 5, 2010
DAVIDSON, N.C.- Another fast start resulted in another easy victory for Stanford at the 2010 NorPac Championship.
One day after jumping out to a 3-0 first-half lead in the first 22 minutes against Appalachian State in the tourney's opening round, Stanford raced out to a 3-0 lead over the first 25 minutes against Longwood on Friday in the semifinals.
Stanford (13-5, 5-1 NorPac) is riding a season-high four-match winning streak heading into Saturday's championship match to be played against either California or Davidson. The Cardinal will be gunning for its fourth consecutive NorPac Tournament title, with all three of those wins coming over California.
Friday's was contest against Longwood (7-13, 4-2 NorPac) was decided early on. Stanford held a 14-5 edge in shot attempts, including a 10-3 advantage over the first 35 minutes. In a display of the Cardinal's trademark offensive balance, three different players found the cage while Alessandra Moss posted her first shutout of the year while making two saves.
Becky Dru tallied her team-leading 11th goal of the season in the ninth minute to give Stanford a 1-0 lead, connecting on the first of two assists from Xanthe Travlos.
At the 15:32 mark, Katherine Swank tapped in a shot following a deflection after Travlos' earlier attempt ricocheted off the far post.
Emily Henriksson rounded out the scoring in the 25th minute, diving for a loose ball and converting on the score thanks to an assist from Dru.
Stanford also owned a 7-5 edge in penalty corners.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTES: Stanford has not lost a NorPac Tournament game since a 3-1 loss to California back on Nov. 4, 2006 ... Stanford's path to the championship game was exactly the same in 2009, with victories over Appalachian State (first round) and Longwood (semifinals) ... The Cardinal has posted four shutouts on the year, but three of them have been shared efforts between Moss and Julia LaSalvia. Friday's shutout was Moss' first since last year's 3-0 win over California in the NorPac Tournament final ... Emily Henriksson's five goals are the most among Cardinal freshmen.