April 6, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. - The defense of No. 2 Stanford, ranked first in the MPSF, strangled No. 4 UCLA into submission in Saturday's 8-1 win on Senior Day at Avery Aquatic Center.
Kate Baldoni made seven saves and the Cardinal defense held the Bruins scoreless for the game's opening 27:15 until Emily Donohoe scored with 4:45 remaining in the fourth period. The win improved the Cardinal to 23-1 overall and 4-0 in MPSF play, clinching for Stanford a top-two seed at April 26-28's MPSF Championship.
Stanford will have its chance to bag the conference's top seed next Saturday, April 13, traveling to USC to take on the top-ranked Trojans at 4 p.m.
On the offensive end of the pool, seniors Alexis Lee and Melissa Seidemann accounted for a pair of goals apiece while Kaley Dodson also scored twice. Kelsey Suggs each scored a goal.
Stanford's defense, though, was the story Saturday. The Cardinal dominated the two-meter area, forcing UCLA to fire from the perimeter against Baldoni for most of the game. Seidemann, Grossman, Suggs and Annika Dries played big roles in smothering the UCLA hole players, while out on the perimeter the rest of the Stanford defense played an aggressive face-up style.
Seidemann put the Cardinal on the board 1:52 into the contest, drawing a penalty shot which she converted. UCLA goalie Sami Hill would save a second Stanford penalty shot, guessing correctly against Maggie Steffens with 4:25 left in the period. Both defenses put out a strong opening period, neither allowing a goal in the run of play.
The Cardinal found a crack in the Bruin defense early in the second period, however. Kiley Neushul found Lee at the near post 57 seconds into the frame with Lee finishing the sequence to double the Stanford lead. The stalemate set in once again until there were six seconds remaining, when Stanford, on the 6-on-5, made it 3-0 as Dodson side-armed a skip shot inside a sliver of daylight at the near post.
Seidemann would net her second of the game with 55 seconds left in the third period while the Cardinal defense continued putting the clamps to the Bruins. Dodson would score her second 22 seconds into the fourth period to make it 5-0 before Donohoe finally broke UCLA out of its scoreless struggle with 4:45 to go. Yet the Cardinal did not relent, pressing forward with goals from Lee, Grossman and Suggs over the final 3:16 to ice the win.
UCLA - 0 0 0 0 = 1
Stanford - 1 2 1 4 = 8
Stanford Goal Scorers: K. Dodson 2, Lee 2, Seidemann 2, Grossman, Suggs
UCLA Goal Scorers: Donohoe
Goalie Saves: Baldoni 7 (S); Hill 8 (UCLA)