COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Stanford and Ohio State are women’s lacrosse programs on the verge of breakout seasons. Both are undefeated and see this nonconference contest (Saturday, 9 a.m. PT) as a way to enhance their national profiles. Another similarity: Both have most of their key players returning after reaching the NCAA tournament last year. Stanford (2-0) is No. 15 and Ohio State (4-0) is No. 10.
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The following is a closer look at Saturday’s game:
Who: No. 15 Stanford (2-0) at No. 10 Ohio State (4-0)
When: Saturday, 9 a.m. PT (noon ET)
Where: Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium (8,000)
Series Record: Stanford leads, 7-4
Live Stats: Click here
Webcast: Click here
Forecast: High of 26 degrees; sunny
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The Season So Far: Stanford earned a big 12-10 victory over No. 12 Notre Dame at home on Friday, after opening the season with a 22-7 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation victory over visiting Fresno State. This will be Stanford’s first road game. Rachel Ozer scored four goals against the Irish, including the go-ahead score to make it 4-3 in the first half. Junior defender Adrienne Anderson played a key role by holding Notre Dame All-America and leading scorer Cortney Fortunato without a goal and to only one assist. Against Fresno State, Kelsey Murray scored a career-high five goals and had four assists -- all her scoring except one assist came in the first half.
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2014 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 players with 20 or more goals and all have returned this year.
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Saturday’s Opponent, Ohio State: The No. 10 Buckeyes (4-0) are off to their best start in three years, with victories over Detroit, Binghamton, Cincinnati, and Virginia Tech. The closest result was a 14-7 victory at Virginia Tech in 10-degree weather. Ohio State will be playing for the first time in 13 days. The Buckeyes went 13-7 last season, including 9-1 at home, and advanced to the first round of the NCAA tournament. Attacker Jackie Cifarelli was third in the nation in assists last year, with 46, and has six goals and 15 assists already this season for a team-leading 21 points. Senior attack Katie Chase leads the nation in goals, with 18.
The Stanford-Ohio State Series: Stanford leads the all-time series with the Buckeyes, 7-4. This is the sixth consecutive season the teams have played, with Stanford holding a 4-1 edge in that span. The Cardinal has won the past four meetings. In games in Columbus, Stanford is 4-0. During the season opener last year, Stanford beat the visiting Buckeyes, 11-9. Stanford controlled the ball for 6:46 of the final 7:27 to ice the game. Rachel Ozer had four goals for Stanford and Katie Chase had three for Ohio State.
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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.
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Stanford in the Rankings:
IWLCA coaches: No. 15
Brine media poll: No. 14
Lacrosse Magazine: No. 13
Lax Power computer: No. 13
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MPSF Players of the Week: Stanford players swept Mountain Pacific Sports Federation weekly honors after the Cardinal opened the season with a pair of victories, including 12-10 over No. 12 Notre Dame. Fifth-year senior Rachel Ozer was Offensive Player of the Week, junior Adrienne Anderson was Defensive POW, and goalie Allie DaCar won Rookie of the Week honors.
• Ozer scored a team-high four goals against Notre Dame, including the game’s most crucial goals. She was three-for-three on free-position shots. She put Stanford ahead for good, 4-3, to complete a rally from an early 2-0 deficit. When Notre Dame cut the deficit to 7-6 early in the second half, Ozer again scored on a free-position to spark a 5-1 run that gave Stanford enough cushion to pull out the victory.
• Anderson played flawless defense, holding Irish All-America and leading scorer Cortney Fortunato without a goal and to only one assist. The Stanford defense forced the Irish into a series of long-range or poor shots.
• The freshman DaCar started the first two games of her collegiate career, and had eight saves against Notre Dame and withstood 37 shots. She also had a ground ball and a caused turnover. DaCar had three saves and two ground balls in one half of play against Fresno State.
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Scoring Streak: Junior midfielder Lucy Dikeou has scored 26 goals in her past 10 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, 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: free-position shots (78, fourth), assists (48, sixth), points (153, seventh), shots (226, 10th), and goals (105, 11th).
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National/Conference Rankings: The following are Stanford’s top rankings as a team and individual in the nation and MPSF (in parentheses):
Team:
1st, Winning percentage, 1.000 (1st)
7th, Scoring offense, 17.00 (1st)
14th, Scoring marginn, 8.50 (2nd)
17th, Caused turnovers, 10.50 (2nd)
22nd, Points, 50 (2nd)
32nd, Ground balls per game, 18.00 (3rd)
43rd, Draw controls, 11.50 (2nd)
Individual:
5th, Points per game, Kelsey Murray, 5.00 (1st)
7th, Assists Per Game, Kelsey Murray, 3.00 (1st)
19th, Assists, Kelsey Murray, 6 (3rd)
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Special situations: Here are Stanford’s records in certain situations:
• When scoring first: 1-0
• When the opponent scores first: 1-0
• In games it has trailed: 1-0
• In games it has trailed in the second half: 0-0
• When leading at halftime: 2-0
• When trailing at halftime: 0-0
• When tied at halftime: 0-0
• When leading with 10 minutes left: 2-0
• When trailing with 10 minutes left: 0-0
• When tied with 10 minutes left: 0-0
• In overtime: 0-0
• Largest deficit: 2-0 to Notre Dame, 25:23 left (first half)
• Largest comeback: Trailed 2-0 to Notre Dame (first half); Won 12-10.
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Against ranked teams: Ohio State represents the second ranked team Stanford has played this season. The Cardinal is 1-0 against ranked teams thus far.
Feb. 20: No. 19 Stanford 12, No. 12 Notre Dame 10.
