BERKELEY, Calif. – The Stanford women’s lacrosse team completes its regular season and meets an old friend, when it plays at California on Sunday at noon. The Cardinal, which already has locked up the No. 1 seed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament, seeks its first perfect MPSF season since 2011. Stanford also faces Brooke Eubanks for the first time. Eubanks was a Stanford assistant coach for the past six years.
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The following is a closer look at Sunday’s game:
Who: No. 15 Stanford (12-2, 8-0) vs. California (3-12, 2-6)
When: Sunday, noon
Where: Memorial Stadium
All-Time Series Record: Stanford leads, 28-7
Live Stats: Look for links at GoStanford.com
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Week in Review: Stanford scored the game’s first 13 goals on its way to beating UC Davis, 15-6, on Wednesday to capture its first MPSF regular-season title since 2011. Hannah Farr scored four goals and Rachel Ozer had three assists for the Cardinal, including a streak of seven goals in a span of 7:19 that increased the lead from 4-0 to 11-0 by halftime. Goals by Mackenzie Tesei and Farr increased the lead to 13-0 before the Aggies got on the board with 24:36 left in the game.
The MPSF Tournament: Stanford has earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the MPSF tournament, to be played April 30-May 3 in Denver. Stanford will begin play with a semifinal on Friday at 3 p.m. PT. Stanford plays the winner of the first-round game between the Nos. 4-5 seeds. San Diego State, Oregon, or Colorado could play in that game.
The Stanford-Cal Series: Stanford leads the all-time series, 28-7. The teams were the West Coast powerhouses in the early days of the MPSF. In fact, they have met in the conference tournament 11 of the past 14 years. Included in those meetings were seven conference championship games, the most recent in 2009. Stanford has won the past 11 in the series. Cal’s most recent victory was in Feb. 28, 2008, by an 11-9 score. Last year, Mackenzie Tesei came off the bench to record her first collegiate hat trick and had five draw controls and three caused turnovers in Stanford’s 18-7 victory
Best Records: If Stanford beats Cal, the Cardinal will finish the regular season with two or fewer losses for the second time in history. Only the 2011 team, which went 14-2, had a better record. Stanford is 12-2.