Sept. 3, 2011
NEW HAVEN, CT- No. 20 Stanford scored all of its goals during an eight-minute stretch in the second half, pulling away for a 3-1 victory over Yale on Saturday morning.
The Cardinal wrapped up its four-game, eight-day East Coast road swing with a 3-1 record, with the only loss coming in the form of a hard-fought 4-2 setback at No. 4 Connecticut. Stanford also booked wins over Hofstra (4-3 in overtime) and No. 17 Albany (3-2) during the trip.
Stanford trailed Yale, which was playing in its season opener, 1-0 at halftime before seizing control with a strong second half. The Cardinal held a 22-10 edge in shots (12-3 over the final period) while each team attempted six penalty corners.
The Cardinal actually outplayed the Bulldogs over the first 35 minutes, holding a 10-7 edge in shots but without a goal to show for it. Instead, Yale's Maddy Sharp opened the scoring early on with a goal in the game's second minute.
Unable to find the cage in the first half, Stanford quickly iced the game with three unassisted goals over an eight-minute span. Katie Mitchell knotted the game at 1-1 with a score at the 41:24 mark, Hannah Thiemann put the Cardinal ahead 2-1 with her first career goal in the 46th minute and Emily Henriksson added an insurance tally three minutes later to round out the scoring.
Alex McCawley fired off a game-high four shots while Becky Dru and Stephanie Byrne both chipped in with three.
Ale Moss made three saves in goal to earn the win.
Stanford is back in action on Friday, Sept. 9, hosting Indiana at 4 p.m. in its season opener at the Varsity Turf.
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NOTES: In the second half of games this year, Stanford has outscored its opponents 5-3 and outshot its foes 35-17 ... The season-opening East Coast road swing included some impressive debuts for a few Cardinal rookies: Alex McCawley (four starts, two goals, one assist, five points, 12 shots), Hannah Thiemann (four starts, one goal, one assist, three shots), Kelsey Harbin (four starts, game-winning overtime goal against Hofstra, two points, three shots) and Shannon Herold (four starts, two assists, two shots).