March 24, 2011
Louisville, Ky. - No. 7 Stanford improved to 8-0, defeating another quality opponent in Louisville, 16-12. The Cardinal handed the Cardinals their first loss of the season, while Stanford defeated its fourth Big East opponent of the year.
The loss was the first of the season for Louisville and makes Stanford just one of six remaining unbeaten teams in the nation.
"I am really happy with the team's performance against a good Louisville team," said head coach Amy Bokker. "Our offensive effort was again very diverse with many contributors. Annie Read was also very solid for us in goal today."
Louisville opened the scoring in the early moments of and the two teams went back and forth, sharing the lead for the early part of the game. Freshmen Rachel Ozer and Anna Kim scored Stanford's first two goals to give Stanford its first lead, but Louisville fought back to make it 3-2.
The Cardinal then scored three consecutive goals for a lead that it would not relinquish. Leslie Foard got on the board on the way to another multi-goal game, before Sarah Flynn scored her first of two and Nina Swanson capped the run with another goal from a freshman.
Louisville managed to keep it close in the first half, however, as only an Anna Boeri goal with five second remaining allowed Stanford to take a 7-5 lead at the half. Each team had 18 shots for the half with Read looking spectacular in net, making 10 of her 16 saves in the period.
Stanford began to take control in the second half, scoring three consecutive goals out of the break. Emilie Boeri, Lauren Schmidt and Flynn tallied goals in the first 2:03 of the period to give Stanford a commanding five-goal lead.
From there, the teams traded goals, but the Cardinal had a big enough lead where the game was never in doubt. Louisville outshot Stanford 37-34 for the game, but 30 of Stanford's shots were on goal. Read's 16 saves were also a key to the game.
The Cardinal continued with its balanced scoring attack as nine players found the back of the net. Emilie Boeri led the team with a hat trick, but Foard, Flynn, Anna Boeri, Nina Swanson and Ozer each had a pair of goals.
Next up for the Cardinal will be No. 15 Vanderbilt in Nashville on Sunday. It will be the third ranked opponent of the year for Stanford and the first on the road. The first draw will be at noon in Tennessee of 9am, PST.