Nov. 6, 2010
Tournament Central | Media Guide | Statistics
DAVIDSON, N.C.- Becky Dru scored two early goals to cap a dominating tournament performance and lead Stanford past California 2-0 on Saturday afternoon as the Cardinal captured its fourth straight NorPac Tournament championship.
Dru scored twice in a seven-minute span during the game's first 20 minutes and the Stanford defense took care of the rest. Dru's numbers over the three-game stretch (five goals, three assists, 13 points, 20 shots) were more than enough to secure her tournament MVP honors.
So the hardware will remain in Stanford's trophy case, as the Cardinal (14-5, 5-1 NorPac) has now defeated the Golden Bears (10-9, 5-1 NorPac) in the championship game for the fourth consecutive season.
Perhaps more importantly, Stanford appears to be playing at its highest level of the season. The Cardinal has won a season-best five straight games, outscoring its opponents 25-5 over that stretch. Throw in the fact that Stanford has been competitive in four games this year against top-10 foes, and it's easy to see why this year's club has all the makings of a dangerous postseason threat.
The next step is familiar territory for Stanford. Because the NorPac Championship winner is not awarded an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Cardinal must participate in an NCAA Play-In game. This year's NorPac winner is matched up on the road against the tournament champion from the Atlantic-10 Conference, so Stanford will now play at Massachusetts on Tuesday morning with an NCAA Tournament berth on the line.
In what should be an evenly-matched game, Stanford and Massachusetts have both spent considerable time in the national rankings this year and currently rank 1-2, respectively, in the receiving votes category.
Just like its first two tournament games, the Cardinal raced out to an early lead and coasted to a victory.
A penalty stroke was awarded to Stanford at the 10:09 mark with Dru converting for a 1-0 lead. The stroke was called when California goalkeeper Maddie Hand left her position to take out an on-rushing Stanford player in the circle.
In the 17th minute, Dru found the cage again thanks to a pass that Xanthe Travlos slipped through to the right side.
Dru led all players with five shots while Katherine Swank added three attempts off the bench. Elise Ogle and Katie Mitchell added two shots apiece.
A pair of defensive saves in the second half kept California within striking distance.
Stanford held a 16-3 edge in shot attempts, including an 11-2 mark in the second half. The Cardinal also owned an advantage in penalty corners at 6-2.
Alessandra Moss made two saves in goal, notching her second shutout in as many days.
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2010 NorPac Championship All-Tournament Team
Becky Dru (Stanford)- MVP
Shannon Elmitt (California)
Sarah Fisher (Davidson)
Lydia Brambilla (UC Davis)
Camille Gandhi (Stanford)
Deanna Kennedy (California)
Megan Lenhardt (Radford)
Steph Meador (Davidson)
Nicole Morgan (Appalachian State)
Amada Spellman (Pacific)
Xanthe Travlos (Stanford)
Lauren van de Kamp (Longwood)
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NOTES: Becky Dru is the first Stanford player to convert on two penalty strokes in the same season since 2005, when Julia Drewes was 3-3 ... Stanford has won seven of the last 10 meetings against California, with four of those coming in the NorPac Tournament title game. This year's regular season series was split, with each squad winning on their opponents' turf ... Stanford has won two of its last three NCAA Play-In games, defeating Lock Haven 1-0 in 2007 and Boston University 3-2 in overtime last year ... Dru leads Stanford in goals (13), assists (9), points (35) and shots (83). In 41 career games, the sophomore defender has totaled 26 goals, 16 assists and 68 points ... Stanford's offensive balance has been its trademark during the 2010 campaign, with 15 of the 18 available players scoring at least one goal ... Stanford has scored 31 goals in the first half, 32 goals in the second half and two in overtime ... Alessandra Moss tallied her 10th career shutout and lowered her GAA to 1.22 ... Stanford has won as many games over the last two years (31) than in the three previous seasons combined ... First-year head coach Tara Danielson nets her first NorPac Tournament title.