March 27, 2011
Nashville, Tenn. - No. 7 Stanford could only stay unbeaten for so long. Sunday, No. 15 Vanderbilt finally ended the Cardinal run at eight, dropping Stanford, 15-10. The loss drops Stanford to 8-1, still one of the top teams in the country, but no longer unbeaten.
Playing the third game on the road in a week, the Cardinal ran out of gas in the second half as the Commodores went on a run to begin the period to create the separation it needed.
Stanford hung tough early, trading goals with Vanderbilt for most of the first half. The Cardinal led 3-2 and 4-3 early as Karen Nesbitt had a pair of early goals. Lauren Schmidt and Emilie Boeri also added goals as Stanford tried to extend its unbeaten streak on the season to nine games.
Vanderbilt did go on a quick run to end the first half, taking a 7-6 lead at the half. The Commodores held a 17-12 lead in the half in shots and more importantly converted 2-4 free position shots, while the Cardinal went 0-3.
Coming out of the second half, Stanford could not match the intensity of Vanderbilt as the Commodores scored seven consecutive goals to put the game away. The Commodores built a 13-6 lead and for the first time this season Stanford did not have an answer for an opposing team's run.
The Cardinal found a groove late to get the score to 15-10, but the run out the second half by Vanderbilt was too much to overcome. Stanford was forced to settle for a two of three road trip that included three quality opponents.
Nesbitt led the Cardinal with a hat trick in the losing effort, while Lauren Schmidt also had a pair of goals.
Annie Read played the early minutes in net, but was replaced by Lyndsey Munoz who made seven saves, but earned the loss in net.
The Cardinal will now return home to face Brown on Tuesday afternoon at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. Following five straight games away from home, the Cardinal will be happy to return to Cagan for the 4pm first draw.