STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford faces top contenders in a pivotal home weekend in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women’s lacrosse. Stanford, USC, and San Diego State stand atop the standings (though Denver is tied with SDSU in the loss column) with two weekends left in conference play. At stake is the top seed in the MPSF tournament (April 30-May 3 in Denver), from which the conference automatic NCAA qualifier will be determined. A Stanford victory over San Diego State (8-5, 4-2) on Friday (7 p.m.) would eliminate the Aztecs from the top seed, but no matter the outcome of that game, the winner of the contest between Stanford (9-2, 5-0) and USC (10-3, 6-0) on Sunday at 3 p.m. gets the inside track at the No. 1 seed, because the winner also owns the tiebreaker. The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks.
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The following is a closer look at Thursday’s game:
Who: No. 15 Stanford (9-2, 5-0) vs. San Diego State (8-5, 4-2)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Laird Q. Cagan Stadium
All-Time Series Record: Stanford leads, 3-0
Live Stats: Look for links at GoStanford.com
Twitter: @stanfordwlax
Admission: Free
Parking: Free anywhere on campus after 4 p.m.
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The following is a closer look at Sunday’s game:
Who: Stanford vs. USC (10-3, 6-0)
When: Sunday, 3 p.m.
Where: Laird Q. Cagan Stadium
All-Time Series Record: Stanford leads, 1-0
Live Stats: Look for links at GoStanford.com
TV: Live on Pac-12 Networks
Twitter: @stanfordwlax
Admission: Free
Parking: Free anywhere on campus
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Senior Day: Stanford will recognize its seven seniors in a ceremony before Sunday's game. They are: Hannah Farr, Kyle Fraser, Rachel Kalick, Meredith Kalinowski, Emily Newstrom, Chinna O’Suji, and fifth-year senior Rachel Ozer.
Week in Review: Stanford has won four consecutive games since a desultory 15-7 home loss to Cornell on March 31 to close the nonconference season. The result seemed to strengthen the resolve of the team. In the next game, Stanford bolted to a 10-1 lead at defending MPSF champion Denver on the way to a 14-7 victory and has been rolling ever since. Last week, Stanford again pushed to a big first-half lead, of 8-1, against visiting Oregon. Though the Ducks closed within four, Stanford took advantage of eight draw controls and three caused turnovers, plus a goal and an assist from Lucy Dikeou, which paid off in a 15-10 victory on Thursday. The Cardinal completed the weekend with a 22-2 rout at Saint Mary’s on Sunday. Twenty-eight players saw action against the Gaels, with 14 different players scoring. Emily Newstrom, a faceoff specialist, had a career-high four.
Friday’s Opponent, San Diego State: The Aztecs, in their fourth season, continue to progress as a program. They won their first four conference games before home losses to Denver, 17-10 on Thursday, and to Colorado, 8-7 on Sunday. Senior midfielder Christina Ricciardulli, a captain and two-time All-MPSF second-team selection, tied a program-record with eight draw controls, and had three caused turnovers, three groundballs and a goal against Denver.
The Stanford-San Diego State Series: Stanford holds a 3-0 all-time series lead, with the first two victories coming at Cagan Stadium. In 2013, Stanford tied a school single-game scoring record in a 23-16 victory. Last year, Stanford scored 10 unanswered goals to break open a one-goal game on the way to a 15-10 victory on Montezuma Mesa.
Friday’s Opponent, USC: The Women of Troy (10-3 Overall, 6-0 MPSF) won two at home last week to stay unbeaten in the MPSF, 11-8 over Colorado and a 16-4 shocker over Denver -- not shocking for the result, but in the goal margin over the defending MPSF champs. USC is off to its best MPSF start in its three-year history and the 10 overall victories are also a program-high. Michaela Michael had 11 goals (career-high six vs. Colorado), two assists, and 11 draws for the week and is the reigning MPSF Offensive Player of the Week. She is sixth in the country in draw controls per game (6.15) and teammate Caroline de Lyra is eighth in assists per game (2.08).
The Stanford-USC Series: The teams have played twice. In the first, Stanford earned a 17-11 home victory on March 8, 2013. Last year, on April 20, in a wild game that featured four lead changes and five ties, No. 13 Stanford was edged by USC, 11-10 at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Stanford took a 10-9 lead on a goal by Kyle Fraser with 13:53 left, but the Trojans countered with two goals within 28 seconds. Alex Moore scored the go-ahead goal with 11:18 left and USC warded off Stanford’s attacks the rest of the way. The Cardinal outshot USC, 4-0, after the final goal, but was unable to convert.
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 who had been a regular part of the rotation all four seasons. Lentz has switched from midfield to defense this season and is a returning All-MPSF first-team selection.
Stanford in the Rankings:
IWLCA coaches: No. 15 (from No. 15 last week)
Brine media poll: No. 13 (from No. 15)
Lacrosse Magazine: No. 20 (from No. 20)
Lax Power computer: No. 13 (from No. 12)
RPI: No. 10 (from No. 9)
National stat rankings: With MPSF in parentheses going into the week.
Team:
Scoring offense – 3rd, 15.64 (1st)
Draw controls – 3rd, 15.82 (1st)
Winning percentage – 10th, .818 (1st)
Scoring margin – 12th, 5.36 (2nd)
Caused turnovers -- 35th, 8.64 (4)
Individual:
Draw controls – 51st, Lucy Dikeou, 3.27 (5th)
Kelly Myers, 56th, 3.18 (7th)
Goals-Against Average – 60th, Allie DaCar, 10.53 (6th)
The Season So Far: Stanford opened at 4-0, its best start since going 8-0 to start the 2011 season. The Cardinal improved its No. 20 IWLCA national preseason ranking to No. 9 while earning back-to-back victories over then-No. 12 Notre Dame at home and then-No. 10 Ohio State on the road, both by 12-10 scores, and followed with a 22-11 victory at Vanderbilt. However, the Cardinal lost two of its next three to complete the nonconference season, but are perfect in MPSF play.
Winningest Coach: On March 8 with a 22-11 victory at Vanderbilt, Amy Bokker became the winningest coach in Stanford lacrosse history. Bokker, in her seventh season, achieved her 85th victory (she is now 90-35, .714) to surpass her predecessor, Michele Uhlfelder. who went 84-46 (.646) from 2001-08. There have been six head coaches in the history of the varsity program, which began in 1995.
Special situations: Stanford’s records in certain situations:
• When scoring first: 7-1
• When the opponent scores first: 2-1
• In games it has trailed: 4-2
• In games it has trailed in the second half: 2-2
• When leading at halftime: 7-1
• When trailing at halftime: 1-1
• When tied at halftime: 1-0
• When leading with 10 minutes left: 9-1
• When trailing with 10 minutes left: 0-1
• When tied with 10 minutes left: 0-0
• In overtime: 0-0
• Largest deficit: Nine goals -- 15-6 to Cornell, in second half.
• Largest comeback: Trailed 8-5 to Colorado in first half, won 16-14.
• Record when holding opponents to 10 or fewer goals: 7-0
• Record when scoring 10 or more goals: 9-1
A Look Back: In 2014, 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.
Impact Players: Since Alexandra Crerend and Alex Poplawski joined the starting lineup, Stanford has gone 4-0. Though those changes are not necessarily the reason for the Cardinal’s streak, there’s no doubt they have made an impact. Crerend, who arrived last year as a sophomore transfer from Brown (where she scored 24 goals as a freshman), has scored nine goals in those four games and been a huge addition on faceoffs and draw controls. Poplawski, a sophomore, also has nine goals, including a five-goal outburst against Colorado for a collegiate career high.
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: goals (117, seventh), assists (57, fifth), points (174, fifth), shots (252, ninth), and free-position shots (57, seventh).