STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford and Notre Dame resume a women’s lacrosse series that’s now in its fifth consecutive season and has been played 13 of the past 14 years. This is a big early test for both teams. No. 19 Stanford (1-0) is seeking to enhance its national reputation and boost its NCAA tournament credentials. The Cardinal opened its season with a 22-7 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation victory over visiting Fresno State on Wednesday. No. 12 Notre Dame (2-0) is playing the first of five consecutive road games and is facing its first ranked opponent.
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The following is a closer look at Friday’s game:
Who: No. 12 Notre Dame (2-0) at No. 19 Stanford (1-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. PT
Where: Laird Q. Cagan Stadium (2,500)
All-Time Series Record: Notre Dame, 9-6
Live Stats: Look for links at gostanford.com
TV: Live on Pac-12 Networks (Christian Miles and Kara Lentz on the call)
Tickets: Admission is free.
Parking: Free anywhere on campus after 4 p.m.
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2014 Season in Review: Stanford finished 14-5 overall (7-2 in the MPSF) and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in five seasons before losing to Duke, 13-9, in a first-round game at Notre Dame. Stanford went 4-2 against teams that were ranked in the IWLCA Top 20 at some point during the season, including an 11-10 victory at then-No. 6 Notre Dame after rallying from a 9-6 second-half deficit. Stanford finished second in the MPSF and advanced to the MPSF tournament final -- its 17th consecutive conference tournament final -- before losing to host Denver, 14-11. Stanford claimed the MPSF Player of the Year, junior midfielder Hannah Farr, and had balanced scoring, with seven with 20 or more goals, all of whom returned this year. Stanford, in fact, returned 92 percent of its goals.
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Stanford in the Rankings:
IWLCA coaches: No. 19
Brine media poll: No. 18
Lacrosse Magazine: No. 18
Lax Power computer: No. 16
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Friday’s Opponent, Notre Dame: The Irish are 2-0 after after a pair of convincing victories last weekend -- 14-5 over Cincinnati and 17-5 over Detroit. Sophomore Cortney Fortunato, the nation’s top freshman last year as selected by WomensLax.com, is the team points leader with 7 goals and 5 assists for 12 points. Last year, she scored 46 goals. The Irish advanced to the second round of the 2014 NCAA tournament before falling to Duke, the team that ousted Stanford in the first round, completing a 10-9 season. This is the first of five consecutive road games for the Irish, who next play at Cal, on Sunday.
The Stanford-Notre Dame Series: Notre Dame leads the all-time series, 9-6, but Stanford has won the past two meetings -- 8-7 in the first round of the 2014 NCAA tournament in Evanston, Ill. -- and 11-10 at Notre Dame last season. The NCAA victory was Stanford’s first ever in the tournament. Hannah Farr, now a senior, scored the winner with four seconds remaining. In last year’s contest in the Indiana cold, Stanford rallied from a 9-6 second-half deficit. Lucy Dikeou scored the last of her four goals with 4:05 left for the winner. The teams are playing for the fifth consecutive season. Stanford holds a 3-2 edge in games played since 2011. In the series in games played at Stanford, Notre Dame leads 6-2.
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Team captains: Stanford’s team captains are seniors Hannah Farr and Meredith Kalinowski, and junior Meg Lentz. Farr was the 2014 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year. Kalinowski is a midfielder with 53 appearances over her career. Lentz is a returning All-MPSF first-team selection in defense.
The Season Opener: Stanford opened Wednesday with a 22-7 victory over Fresno State in MPSF action. Sophomore Kelsey Murray scored five goals and had four assists in a career-high nine-point evening. All her goals and three of her assists came in the first half. Kyle Fraser had four goals and Lucy Dikeou and Alexandra Crerend had three apiece. For Crerend, it’s her second consecutive career-high three-goal game (she scored three in the 2014 NCAA loss to Duke). Allie DaCar made the start in goal and played the first half. She was joined by fellow freshman Kelly Myers in the starting lineup. Myers scored two goals and had two assists. Another freshman, Maggie Nick, scored a goal as well.
Two-Sport Star and Player of the Year: Senior Hannah Farr was not only the 2014 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year and IWLCA second-team All-America, but the Peninsula native is a two-sport athlete. She was a starter at outside right back during this past fall season, scoring the only goal to beat USC, 1-0. The Cardinal advanced to the College Cup, where it lost to eventual champion Florida State in the semifinals. As a freshman, she was part of the 2011 NCAA championship squad. In lacrosse, she became the first California native to be named MPSF Player of the Year. Farr is a native of Hillsborough, about 15 miles north of Stanford, and graduated from San Francisco’s St. Ignatius Prep. She is the first in Stanford history to double in soccer and lacrosse.
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Returning 2014 All-MPSF Cardinal:
First Team
Rachel Ozer, now fifth-year senior; Attack; Moraga, Calif. (Campolindo HS)
Lucy Dikeou, now sophomore; Midfield; Denver, Colo. (Kent Denver School)
Hannah Farr, now senior, Midfield; Hillsborough, Calif. (St. Ignatius Prep)
Adrienne Anderson, now junior., Def.; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. (Santa Margarita Catholic HS)
Second Team
Meg Lentz, now junior, Midfield; Cleveland Heights, Ohio (Cleveland Heights)
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Scoring Streak: Lucy Dikeou has scored 24 goals in her past nine games, including six performances of three or more goals. Last year, she joined Hannah Farr as the only Stanford players to be ranked among team’s top-five in goals, assists, points, ground balls, draw controls, and caused turnovers.
Fifth-Year Senior: Rachel Ozer of Moraga, California, became the first Bay Area native to play for Stanford (Hannah Farr was the second) when she arrived in the 2011 season. Ozer is the only fifth-year senior on the team and ranks among Stanford’s top-10 statistical leaders in several catagories. She graduated in June with a degree in atmosphere and energy engineering, and now is co-terming to earn her masters in mechanical engineering. Ozer ranked among Stanford’s career leaders in these categories heading into the season: free-position shots (75, fourth), assists (48, sixth), points (149, seventh), shots (220, 11th), and goals (101, 12th).
National-Team Goalie: First-year assistant coach Liz Hogan is an active member of the U.S. national team as a goalie. Hogan and Chelsea Gamble are new assistant coaches, replacing Brooke Eubanks and Lauren Schwarzmann, who were named head coaches at California and Mount St. Mary’s, respectively. Hogan, who coached at Virginia Tech last season, was a four-time All-Big East first-team selection at Syracuse from 2007-10 while playing for the legendary Gary Gait.
America’s Team: Stanford 10-member freshman class represents 10 different states. Kelly Myers and Dillon Schoen were IWLCA first-team high school All-Americans.