Oct. 16, 2011
BERKELEY, Calif.- Emily Henriksson's goal with just under five minutes remaining lifted No. 9 Stanford to a 3-2 victory over No. 12 California on Sunday afternoon in Berkeley, as the Cardinal continued its dominance of the Golden Bears.
With the victory, Stanford (12-2, 5-0 NorPac) clinched the NorPac's West Division regular season crown and secured the No. 1 seed in the NorPac Championship, scheduled for Nov. 3-5 at the Varsity Turf. Stanford is the four-time defending champion of the event, defeating California each time in the championship game.
Stanford also defeated California 3-2 back on Sept. 23 in this year's earlier meeting, and the Cardinal has now won nine of the last 12 matchups in the overall series.
Sunday's win was Stanford's fifth of the year against a top-20 opponent, and this victory should only improve Stanford's national ranking and postseason resume.
Stanford held a 12-11 edge in shots, while penalty corners were even at 10-10.
Henriksson's goal came in the 67th minute, breaking a 2-2 tie. Henriksson's shot deflected off the pads of Cal goalkeeper Maddie Hand following an assist from Alex McCawley.
Becky Dru put Stanford up 1-0 in the seventh minute, converting on a penalty stroke.
Andrea Earle scored following a penalty corner at the 24:09 mark, knotting the game at 1-1 to close out the scoring in the first period.
Colleen Ryan's second goal of the year gave the Cardinal a 2-1 lead, poking in a loose ball from the right following an assist from Courtney Haldeman.
But four minutes later, Rachelle Comeau scored on a breakaway with an assist from Megan Shimojima to make it 2-2.
Ten minutes later, Henriksson tapped home the game-winner.
Stanford is back in action on Friday, Oct. 21, hosting UC Davis at 7 p.m.