March 8, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. - It was not always pretty, but the 18th-ranked Stanford lacrosse team got the result it was looking for with a 17-12 victory over the University of Southern California, Friday at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
The Cardinal (3-2, 1-0 MPSF) fought off a second half USC (4-4, 2-1 MPSF) rally to open its Mountain Pacific Sports Federation slate with a win.
After Stanford opened the second half on a 3-1 scoring run to earn its largest lead of the match, 14-5, USC responded with four consecutive goals. The Trojans would eventually pull within four scores of the Cardinal after Caroline Cordrey scored her team-high fourth goal of the day for the Trojans with 2:08 to play.
However, Stanford got a goal from Rachel Ozer less than 30 seconds later to put the Cardinal ahead comfortably, 17-12. Stanford claimed the ensuing draw control and maintained possession until the end of regulation.
Stanford junior Anna Kim had a terrific game, leading Stanford with five points on four goals and an assist. Kim also led the Cardinal with five draw controls. She ranks second on Stanford in points (13), goals (9), assists (4) and draw controls (13) on the season.
"She played awesome in the midfield and was a real spark of energy," head coach Amy Bokker said.
The Cardinal also saw a breakout offensive performance from freshman Julia Burns who recorded her first multi-goal game of her career, finding the net four times - each in the first half. Burns scored the first goal of the game less than a minute in and netted the final goal of the first half with 12 seconds to play.
Senior co-captain Lyndsey Munoz played strong in net, blocking seven shots and picking up two ground balls.
Stanford opened the game on a 3-0 scoring run in the first 4:15. Hannah Farr recorded the Cardinal's second goal, while freshman Lucy Dikeou added the third. Farr contributed four points on the day (2-2), while Dikeou added three (2-1).
After Caroline de Lyra got USC on the board, Stanford responded with goals from Rachel Ozer and Julia Burns.
It was a relatively quiet game for Ozer, compared to the large numbers the junior has been posting in recent matches, but she finished with three points on two goals and an assist, and was consistently active in the offensive zone. Ozer leads Stanford with 21 points, 14 goals and seven assists.
USC scored twice after Burns' second on the day to cut the lead to 5-3. However, Stanford would close out the half on a 6-1 scoring run to take momentum and an 11-4 lead into halftime.
The Cardinal continued to roll at the start of the second with goals from Dikeou and Kim to cap an 8-1 scoring run that spanned just less than 17 minutes.
Bokker said she was happy with the win but would like to see her team to maintain its level of intensity for the full 60 minutes going into its match Sunday against Temple.
"I was really pleased with the first 40 or so minutes and we had really good rhythm," Bokker said. "If we scored one more goal, we could've gotten the clock running but I think we got a little complacent ... so that's something we talked about after the game in the locker room."
Stanford plays host to Temple at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 10 at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. Admission to the game is free.