April 29, 2011
Moraga, Calif. - No. 6 Stanford got its postseason off to a good start with a 20-11 win over California in the MPSF semifinal. The Cardinal will now advance to the MPSF Championship game as it attempts to win the conference tournament for the seventh-consecutive year and earn the automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
"I thought we played really well on offense," said head coach Amy Bokker. "We still have some things to work on going forward, but it was a good result."
Cal jumped out to a quick start, scoring the game's first two goals in just over a minute of play. The lead would not last long, however, as Stanford would then score 13-consecutive goals.
Sarah Flynn got Stanford on the board at the 24:08 mark in the half as she converted a free-position shot. The Cardinal then tied the score at 2-2 when Emilie Boeri converted a free-position chance.
The Cardinal took its first lead at the 20:42 mark in the half when Anna Boeri collected the ball behind the net and fed a streaking Flynn for her second goal of the game. Catherine Swanson added to lead moments later with a driving goal down the center of the fan.
The Cardinal extended its lead to 7-2 when Karen Nesbitt shot low for her first goal of the game, then Boeri added her second goal, followed by sister Anna Boeri converting a free-position shot.
Anna Boeri added a second goal at the 10:32 mark on a nice feed from Leslie Foard to extend the lead to 8-2. Then, sister Emilie Boeri completed her first-half hat trick on an assist from Lauren Schmidt.
The Cardinal continued to build its lead when Karen Nesbitt added her second goal, just moments after taking a shot to the head while going after the draw control. Schmidt then added a free-position goal and the Cardinal lead was nine. Anna Kim was then fouled on a drive and converted the free-position chance to give Stanford a 10-goal lead.
Foard then scored after a perfect pass from Rachel Ozer from behind the net to complete Stanford's run of 13 straight goals.
Cal ended the run just before the break, but Stanford led 13-3 at halftime. The Cardinal outshot the Golden Bears, 28-10 for the half, despite winning just five of 16 draw controls. The Cardinal did force Cal into 12 turnover to just two of its own.
The Cardinal got the scoring going early in the half as Kim scored her second goal on an assist from Schmidt. Nesbitt then added her third goal on an assist from Kim.
After a Cal goal, Swanson scored her second golf with a rifle shot into the upper corner. Ozer then added a goal as Stanford pushed the lead to 17-4.
The Bears then reeled off three straight goals to get the lead back to 17-7, but Stanford came back to re-extend the lead when Schmidt added her second goal on the second assist from Ozer. Moments later, Jacqueline Candelaria found the back of the net on a break, assisted by Emilie Boeri.
After a Cal goal, Ozer completed the Stanford scoring with open net goal as the Bears tried to increase their pressure by bringing the goalie out into the defense.
Cal scored three final goals, but the contest was never in doubt as the Cardinal cruised to a 20-11 victory.
Stanford will now move on to the MPSF final where it will take on the winner of the game between Denver and Oregon later today. The final will be Sunday, May 1, at 1 p.m. with the winner earning the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.