March 29, 2011
Stanford, Calif. -No. 9 Stanford improved to 9-1 and a perfect 5-0 at home with a 12-8 win over Brown, Tuesday afternoon at Cagan Stadium. Stanford led throughout, but was never able to build a comfortable lead as Brown forced the Cardinal into its slower tempo.
Despite the offense struggling at times, the Cardinal earned a quality win with some superb defense.
"It was nice to be back on our home field," said head coach Amy Bokker. "I thought our defense was good and we accomplished our goal of holding them to single digits in goals. Our ride was working well and we were getting the ball back full field."
The two teams traded goals early in the game as the game was tied midway through the first half at 3-3. Karen Nesbitt opened the scoring for Stanford, while Lauren Schmidt and Leslie Foard also added unassisted goals.
At the 13:51 mark in the first half, the Cardinal would execute a 4-0 run that would prove to be the difference in the game. Sarah Flynn was the catalyst for the run, scoring three of her four goals in a period of just over nine minutes. Foard would add the fourth goal of the run and Stanford led 7-3 late in the half.
Brown got a goal just before the half, but the Cardinal still led 7-4 at the break.
The defense for Stanford was strong as Paige Farmakis, Elizabeth Adam, Ashley Aruffo and Catherine Swanson controlled the Brown attack. Annie Read was also solid in net, making six saves for the game.
Rachel Ozer opened the second half scoring and Flynn added her fourth goal, but Brown controlled the tempo and got the game back to 9-7 at the 13:05 mark.
The Cardinal then scored three consecutive goals to put the game away. The goals came from unlikely sources as reserve Maria Fortino had a pair of goals, while bench sparkplug Jacqueline Candelaria added a goal. The goals for Fortino were just her fourth and fifth on the season, but came in a big spot.
Stanford held on for a 12-8 win, despite outshooting the Bears, 32-18. The difference in the game may have been the draw controls where Stanford held a 13-8 edge. Foard continued to be among the best in the country at gaining possession on a draw, logging six in the game. She now has a team-leading 27 for the season.
Stanford will be back at Cagan Stadium on Friday night for a key MPSF matchup against California at 7pm. The Golden Bears are off to a 2-0 start to the MPSF season and it would be a chance for the Cardinal to gain control of the conference with a win.