Nov. 2, 2012
FARMVILLE, Va.- One day after 31 shots yielded only two goals, No. 14 Stanford unquestionably made the most of its scoring opportunities.
As a result, a familiar outcome has led to an unknown challenge.
Paced by Hope Burke's second hat trick of the year, Stanford overwhelmed rival California 6-2 on Friday afternoon in the semifinal round of the NorPac Championship.
The Cardinal (14-6) notched its third win of the year over the Golden Bears and extended its overall dominance in the series, having now won 12 of the last 16 meetings.
In previous seasons, the Cardinal and Golden Bears have traditionally represented the class of the conference, routinely breezing past NorPac opponents while consistently appearing in the national top-25 poll. Entering this season, the last six NorPac Championship title games had featured a Stanford-California matchup. However, that won't be the case on Saturday.
Standing in the way of Stanford's fifth conference tournament crown in six years will be the Liberty Flames, a fast-rising program in only its second year of existence. Liberty finished 6-11 as an independent during its inaugural season, but carries a 16-5 record into Saturday's NorPac final (10:30 a.m. PT) while riding a program-best eight-game winning streak.
If Friday's performance was any indication, Stanford is ready to go.
In addition to Burke's three goals, Elise Ogle scored for the first time since Sept. 13, 2010, while Anna Simmons found the cage for the time in her career.
The Cardinal was in control 2-0 at halftime and doubled its lead before the Golden Bears played the final 18:46 with an empty net.
Stanford owned a 15-6 shot advantage and held a 9-5 edge in penalty corners.
Burke's first goal of the afternoon in the 22nd minute was assisted by Kelsey Harbin. At the 29:32 mark, Simmons knocked home her first career goal on a redirect following a penalty corner with Becky Dru providing the assist.
Three minutes into the second half, Burke scored again following a scramble in front of the cage with Emily Henriksson dishing out an assist.
Stanford then moved ahead 5-0 after registering two goals in a seven-minute span, with Harbin scoring off a corner and Burke completing the hat trick thanks to an open net breakaway.
After Shannon Elmitt snapped the scoreless streak for Cal in the 62nd minute, Ogle countered with an unassisted score two minutes later.
Lara Kruggel tapped home a goal at the 65:06 mark for the Golden Bears.
Burke's four shot attempts led all players.
Stanford's six goals represented its second-highest scoring output of the year. The Cardinal routed La Salle 10-0 in its season opener back on Aug. 24.