Feb. 13, 2011
Stanford, Calif. - No. 13 Stanford got its season underway with a thrilling 13-12 win over No. 10 Notre Dame on a sunny afternoon at Cagan Stadium. The Cardinal jumped out to a quick lead, but let the Irish come all the way back, before scoring the game's final two goals to secure the win.
"I am really excited to get this win today," said head coach Amy Bokker. "It was important to set the tone for our season by beating a top-10 team today."
Stanford came out on fire, scoring the game's first four goals. Emilie Boeri had the first goal of the season on an assist from her twin sister Anna Boeri. The Boeri twins who were making their first career starts combined on four goals and three assists, including the hat trick for Emilie.
Notre Dame fought back and managed to get the score to 5-3 at the half. Annie Read made five saves in the half and at times was spectacular in net.
The Irish continued to put the pressure on in the second half, scoring five of the first seven goals to take an 8-7 lead. The two teams then traded goals as Leslie Foard scored on a free position shot and Emilie Boeri completed her hat trick with goal No. 3.
At 14:48 remaining in the half, the Cardinal regained the lead on a free position goal from Karen Nesbitt. However, the lead would not last long as Notre Dame scored two unanswered goals to take an 11-10 lead. Foard then scored her second free position goal, but Notre answered on a free position goal of its own.
The Cardinal trailed 12-11 with 7:24 to play, but would not be denied as Sarah Flynn scored in traffic, fighting off contact that resulted in a yellow card for Notre Dame. The tying goal started a run of fouls and cards for Notre Dame that forced the Irish to play down players the rest of the game.
The game-winner came at the 4:36 mark when Lauren Schmidt dodged into the fan to score an unassisted goal. It was a an outstanding individual move for the two-time defending MPSF Player of the Year.
The Cardinal defense held the rest of the game and the Cardinal hung on for a hard fought 13-12 vicotry. Annie Read totaled 10 saves for the game and made several crucial stops in the final minutes.
Outside of the hat trick from Boeri; Foard, Nesbitt and Schmidt also had multi-goal games with Foard also earning five draw controls that were difference makers.
Overall, it was a complete performance by the Cardinal that Bokker called, "one of the best team efforts I have ever coached."
Stanford will next take on Fresno State on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., back at Cagan Stadium. It will be an unusual early season conference game between the Cardinal and the Bulldogs.