STOCKTON, Calif. – Jessica Chisholm scored on a penalty corner with no time remaining to lift No. 4 Stanford to a 2-1 victory against UC Davis on Friday in the NorPac Tournament Semifinals.
The victory moved the Cardinal to 18-1 on the year, setting a program-best mark for wins, and extended its winning-streak to 12 games. Stanford advances to its ninth consecutive NorPac Tournament Championship where it will see Liberty for the third straight year Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (PT).
Friday’s contest was eerily similar to the meeting between the two teams just a week ago with Stanford dominating the possession throughout the game but having trouble finding the back of the net. In both contests, UC Davis scored a late equalizer and the Cardinal responded with a winner from Chisholm on a penalty corner in the final minutes to secure the win.
The Cardinal held advantages in shots (15-3) and penalty corners (6-2). Stanford has limited opponents to one goal or less in 18 of 19 games this season.
Lauren Becker (communication) broke through in the 42nd minute when she dribbled into the circle and snuck her shot into the left corner of the cage. It was Becker’s ninth goal on the year.
The Cardinal remained in control for the rest of the half until UC Davis (5-14) threw numbers forward with five minutes to play. The Aggies’ Sophia Lisaius was able to tip in a loose ball after a penalty corner attempt at 65:06 to knot the score at 1-1. It was UC Davis’ first shot of the contest.
Stanford refocused and controlled the run of play over the final four minutes. The Cardinal earned a penalty corner with half a minute to play. After the clock hit zero, Elise Ogle (communication) inserted a pass to Maddie Secco (human biology) who set the ball for Kelsey Harbin. Harbin (human biology) slid the ball to her left to Chisholm (science, technology and society) who fired a shot that deflected off a defender and landed in the back of the goal.
The Cardinal will see Liberty for the second time this season after earning a 4-1 victory at the Varsity Turf during the first week of the season. Alex McCawley scored twice in the contest, while Becker and Secco registered a goal apiece.
A live stream and live statistics will be available for Saturday’s championship game.
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Notes: Stanford’s win against UC Davis on Friday set a single-season program-record for victories with 18 … the Cardinal is riding a program-best 12-game winning-streak … Stanford advanced to its ninth consecutive NorPac Tournament Championship … The Cardinal will see Liberty in the title match for the third straight year … Stanford won the championship meeting in 2012 but fell to the Lady Flames in 2013 … Stanford has limited opponents to one goal or less in 18 of 19 games this season … The Cardinal is 18-0 when scoring at least one goal … Stanford improved to 12-1 against UC Davis dating back to 2009 … The Cardinal holds advantages over opponents in shots (262-114), penalty corners (105-49) and goals (51-13).