Nov. 3, 2011
STANFORD, Calif.- Backed by a hat trick from Devon Holman, No. 6 Stanford rolled in its NorPac Championship opener, blanking Appalachian State 7-0 on Thursday afternoon at the Varsity Turf.
Winners of six straight, Stanford (16-2, 6-0 NorPac) cruised into the semifinal round and squares off against Davidson on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
The Cardinal is one victory shy of matching the single-season school record for victories (17) established by the 2009 team.
Aiming for its fifth consecutive NorPac Championship title, Stanford easily dispatched Appalachian State (2-17, 1-5 NorPac) to register its fourth shutout in a row and seventh overall.
The Cardinal dominated the game with commanding advantages in shots (30-5) and penalty corners (12-5). Holman led the way with three goals, while Colleen Ryan, Katie Mitchell, Becky Dru and Emily Henriksson also found the cage.
Stanford built a 4-0 lead by halftime, attempting 15 of the game's first 16 shots in the opening stanza.
Holman's first goal came in the sixth minute, collecting a loose ball following a pass from Katie Mitchell after a penalty corner set-up.
Unassisted goals from Ryan and Holman three minutes apart increased Stanford's lead to 3-0.
Less than a minute before halftime, Mitchell tallied her fourth goal of the year to make it 4-0.
In the 37th minute, Stephanie Byrne fed Holman on a well-placed center pass into the circle, with Holman converting for the first hat trick of her career. Holman had entered Thursday's game with four goals on the season.
A penalty stroke from Dru at the 59:28 mark gave the Cardinal a 6-0 lead, and Henriksson rounded out the scoring with her sixth goal of the year three minutes later.
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NOTES: Stanford and Appalachian State were meeting for the third straight year in the first round of the NorPac Championship. The Cardinal won 10-3 last season and 9-0 two years ago ... Goalkeeper Ale Moss has posted four straight shutouts, having last allowed a goal back on Oct. 16 ... Stanford is 2-2 on penalty strokes this year, with Dru converting on both opportunities ... Stanford has scored at least three goals in all but two games this year (a 4-2 loss at Connecticut on Aug. 28, a 1-0 victory over Robert Morris on Oct. 30) ... Becky Dru matched a season-high total with 11 shots, also accomplishing the feat on Aug. 27 against Hofstra ... Thursday's other opening-round winners: Davidson, Longwood and California.