Feb. 16, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. - The Stanford women's lacrosse team gave No. 9 Notre Dame all it could handle in a season-opening 12-10 loss Saturday at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
The Cardinal came out firing, tallying 14 shots in the first half and notching seven goals. Freshman Lucy Dikeou had a tremendous debut, scoring three goals, including the first of the season for the Cardinal.
After sitting out the majority of 2012 due to injury, junior Rachel Ozer wasted no time making her presence known, recording two goals and two assists in the first half, while adding a third goal in the second.
Stanford was strong on the defensive end as well including goalkeeper Lyndey Munoz, who made two stops and allowed just two goals in the first session of play.
The Cardinal entered halftime on a 4-0 scoring run and seemed to have all the momentum, holding a 7-2 lead.
However, Notre Dame responded in the second half as one would expect of a top-10 team in the nation.
After trading a goal each to start the second half, Notre Dame scored five consecutive times in five and a half minutes to tie the match at 8-8.
After Dikeou scored her lone goal of the second half, the Irish found the back of the net twice to take its first lead of the game since leading in the first half, 1-0.
Ozer tied the game at 10-10 with nine minutes to play, off a feed from sophomore Meredith Kalinowski, who recorded her first assist on the season.
Notre Dame reclaimed the lead on a free position goal at with five and a half minutes to play, and added another a minute later to stretch its lead to 12-10.
The Cardinal continued to press for the remainder of the game but had difficulty establishing possession as Notre Dame shifted its attention to holding the ball in the final minutes.
Despite not getting the result it wanted, head coach Amy Bokker said she was encouraged by the team's performance and believes it will be a learning experience for the team to finish games strong.
Stanford will return to the field on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. as it plays host to Harvard.