April 1, 2011
Stanford, Calif. - No. 9 Stanford took control of the MPSF with a 19-11 win over California, Friday evening under the lights at Cagan Stadium. The Cardinal jumped out to a big early lead and cruised to a victory in one of its most complete performances of the season.
"I thought our intensity was good for 60 minutes," said head coach Amy Bokker. "Out offense was very productive and it came from a lot of different places."
The Cardinal jumped out to 4-0 lead as Anna Kim opened the scoring, beforeLauren Schmidt rattled off three consecutive goals. Just 5:48 into the game, the reigning MPSF Player of the Year already had a hat trick. Schmidt would go onto score two more goals and add an assist in her highest scoring game of the season.
Cal battled back to get the game to 5-2, but then Stanford blew the game open with three-straight goals. Sarah Flynn scored two of her goals during the run, while Jacqueline Candelaria added another.
Late in the half, Stanford rattled off four more goals to take a 13-5 lead at the half. The Cardinal outshot Cal 25-11 in the half and also won 11 of 19 draw controls.
The Cardinal built the lead to 10 in the second half, but Cal scored two late goals for a final score of 19-11. Schmidt led Stanford with five goals, but Flynn and Karen Nesbitt also tallied hat tricks. Kim and Carolyn Bradley had two goals apiece, while four others had a single goal.
The Cardinal totaled 40 shots for the game, compared to just 22 for Cal. The Cardinal forced 14 free-position shots, converting eight, as it continually attacked the cage. Stanford won 17 draw controls, compared to 14 for Cal. Leslie Foard continued her mastery of the draw control with four more. She now has 31 on the season, which is among the national leaders.
The Cardinal defense was also strong as it kept constant pressure on the Golden Bears. Stanford forced Cal into 17 turnovers, including nine caused by the Cardinal.
"Our plan was to not just pressure the ball, but also the player next to the ball," said Bokker. "We risk giving up goals that way, but I was really pleased with the intensity that they went after it."
Annie Read picked up her tenth win in goal as she made three saves, before giving way to Lyndsey Munoz who had two saves.
The Cardinal will continue with MPSF play on Sunday as it travels to Saint Mary's to take on the Gaels. The game in Moraga is set for a 1:00 p.m. start, as the Cardinal will look to improve to 3-0 in conference play.