DENVER -- Stanford completed a perfect women’s lacrosse conference season, but that’s only the half of it. Despite its 9-0 record in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play, the Cardinal (13-2 overall) will need to win this weekend’s MPSF tournament to secure the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. Stanford’s first task will be Thursday’s first semifinal against Colorado or San Diego State. Stanford has reached every conference tournament final over the past 17 years, dating back through three conferences.
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MPSF Tournament at University of Denver:
Thursday
First round
No. 6 Oregon (10-7) at No. 3 Denver (12-4), 3 p.m. PT
No. 4 Colorado (10-6) vs. No. 5 San Diego State (9-7), 6 p.m. PT
Friday
Semifinals
No. 1 Stanford vs. Colorado-San Diego State winner, 3 p.m.
No. 2 USC vs. Oregon-Denver winner, 6 p.m.
Sunday
Championship
Semifinal winners, 10 a.m. PT
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Season in Review:
• Tied a school record for fewest losses in a regular season (two).
• Won its first MPSF regular-season title since 2011.
• Ended nonconference season with a desultory 15-7 home loss to Cornell on March 31 -- its second loss in three games. But 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.
• Leads the nation in scoring (16.40) and draw controls (16.60).
• Played three IWLCA top 20 teams: beat then-No. 12 Notre Dame and No. 10 Ohio State by 12-10 scores. Fell to then-No. 15 (now No. 7) Penn State, 17-15.
• Denver native Lucy Dikeou is the only MPSF player among the 25 nominees for the Tewaaraton Award.
2015 All-MPSF:
First Team:
Adrienne Anderson, Jr., D; R. Santa Margarita, Calif. (Santa Margarita Catholic HS)
Lucy Dikeou, So., MF; Denver, Colo. (Kent Denver School)
Hannah Farr, Sr., MF; Hillsborough, Calif. (St. Ignatius Prep)
Rachel Ozer, 5th Sr., ATT; Moraga, Calif. (Campolindo HS)
Second Team:
Allie DaCar, Fr., G, Dublin, Calif. (Amador Valley HS)
Meg Lentz, Jr., MF; Cleveland Heights, Ohio (Cleveland Heights HS)
Team captains: Stanford’s team captains are seniors Hannah Farr, Meredith Kalinowski, and junior Meg Lentz. Farr was the 2014 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year and a four-year All-MPSF first-team selection. Kalinowski is a defender who had been a regular part of the rotation all four seasons. Lentz has switched from midfield to defense this season and is a two-time All-MPSF selection.
Stanford in the Rankings:
IWLCA coaches: No. 15
Brine media poll: No. 10
Lacrosse Magazine: No. 20
Lax Power computer: No. 12
RPI: No. 13
Possible Semifinal Opponents:
Colorado: Stanford leads the all-time series, 3-0, after a 16-14 victory in Boulder on April 5. Alex Poplawski scored a career-high five goals, including the clincher with 9:52 left. Stanford forced 17 saves from Buffs goalie Paige Soenksen and closed the game with a 4-1 run. Alexandra Crerend scored back-to-back to put the Cardinal ahead for good at 15-13 with 12:54 left. The score remained within three goals throughout the game (Colorado led 8-5 in the first) and there were seven ties and five lead changes. Last year, Stanford beat Colorado twice, including a 15-6 result in the MPSF semifinal in Denver, with help of a career high six goals from Kyle Fraser. On April 6 at Stanford, the Cardinal won 13-5. Colorado goalie Paige Soenksen recorded 19 saves in that game, off 40 Stanford shots.
San Diego State: Stanford holds a 4-0 all-time series lead and has averaged 19.2 goals for those contests. On April 17 at Stanford, the Cardinal got five goals from Rachel Ozer, and four goals and eight draw controls from Lucy Dikeou in a 22-10 victory that ended with a running clock. Stanford dominated draw controls, 27-6. In 2013, Stanford tied a school single-game scoring record in a 23-16 victory. And in 2014, Stanford scored 10 unanswered goals to break open a one-goal game on the way to a 15-10 victory on Montezuma Mesa.
Possible Championship Opponents:
USC: Stanford holds a 2-1 all-time series lead. In a matchup for first place on April 19, host Stanford won 12-6, with defender Adrienne Anderson holding MPSF goals-leader Michaela Michael to one goal and no assists, and assist leader Caroline dy Lyra did not have an assist. Allie DaCar made a career-high 14 saves, and that total was matched by USC’s Gussie Johns in a great goalie duel. Lucy Dikeou scored three of her four goals in a six-minute span to allow Stanford to take a 4-1 lead that it would not relinquish. Hannah Farr also scored four for the Cardinal. In 2013, Stanford earned a 17-11 home victory. Last year, in a wild game that featured four lead changes and five ties, USC won 11-10 at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Denver: Stanford leads the all-time series, 18-8. Their matchup, on April 3, was the turning point in Stanford’s season. Stanford rebounded after a 15-7 home loss to unranked Cornell and, in three days, regrouped and blasted to a 10-1 lead. It built to 14-2 in the second half on the way to a 14-7 final. Mackenzie Tesei, a junior, scored a career-high four goals and had an assist. Kelly Myers scored only 36 seconds into the game and Lucy Dikeou, playing in her hometown, scored the first of her three goals shortly after. The Cardinal built a 4-0 lead and held Denver (6-3, 1-1) scoreless for the first 11 minutes. The schools have met in six MPSF tournament finals, including the past two. Last year, Denver defeated Stanford, 14-11.
Oregon: Stanford leads the all-time series, 11-4. On April 9, Stanford beat visiting Oregon, 15-10. Lucy Dikeou won the opening draw and fed Mackenzie Tesei, whose free-position goal put Stanford ahead for good only 14 seconds in. Stanford took a 4-0 lead only six minutes into the game and built it to 8-1 on the way to the wire-to-wire victory. They met in two MPSF tournament finals with Stanford winning, 12-10, in 2011 and Oregon winning, 13-10, in 2012.
MPSF Tournament Championship Scores (previous conferences noted):
2014: Denver 14, Stanford 11
2013: Stanford 7, Denver 6
2012: Oregon 13, Stanford 10
2011: Stanford 12, Oregon 10
2010: Stanford 11, Denver 10 (2OT)
2009: Stanford 18, California 13
2008: Stanford 9, Denver 8
2007: Stanford 12, Denver 11
2006: Stanford 12, Denver 6
2005: Stanford 12, California 9
2004: California 11, Stanford 10
2003 (MPLL): Stanford 15, California 14
2002 (MPLL): Stanford 16, California 7
2001 (WWLL): Stanford 11, California 6
2000 (WWLL): Stanford 12, UC Davis 9
1999 (WWLL): Stanford 11, UC Davis 7
1998 (WWLL): Stanford 10, UC Davis 8
National stat rankings: Also with MPSF in parentheses.
Team:
Scoring offense – 1st, 16.40 (1st)
Draw controls – 1st, 16.60 (1st)
Assists per game: 4th, 6.93 (1st)
Winning percentage – 5th, .867 (1st)
Scoring margin – 7th, 6.80 (1st)
Caused turnovers -- 39th, 8.40 (4th)
Individual:
Draw controls – 30th, Lucy Dikeou, 3.80 (3rd)
Kelly Myers, 56th, 3.14 (7th)
Goals-Against Average – 43rd, Allie DaCar, 9.62 (5th)
Goals Per Game -- 47th, Lucy Dikeou, 2.60 (3rd)
Goals -- 60th, Lucy Dikeou, 39 (5th)
Special situations: Stanford’s records in certain situations:
• When scoring first: 9-1
• When the opponent scores first: 4-1
• In games it has trailed: 6-2
• In games it has trailed in the second half: 2-2
• When leading at halftime: 11-1
• When trailing at halftime: 1-1
• When tied at halftime: 1-0
• When leading with 10 minutes left: 13-1
• 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: 11-0
• Record when scoring 10 or more goals: 13-1
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 94-36, .723) 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.
Two-Sport Athlete: Senior midfielder Hannah Farr is a four-time All-MPSF first-team choice and the 2014 MPSF Player of the Year. She also is two-sport athlete, also playing on Stanford’s soccer team. Farr was a starting right outside back on the 2014 soccer team, which advanced to the NCAA semifinals. She also was a member of Stanford’s 2011 NCAA championship soccer team as a freshman. She is the first ever at Stanford to participate in soccer and lacrosse, and the second Bay Area recruit in program history, behind teammate Rachel Ozer.
America’s Team: Stanford’s 10-member freshman class represents 10 different states. Kelly Myers and Dillon Schoen were IWLCA first-team high school All-Americans. Myers, a midfielder from Alexandria, Virginia, and goalie Allie DaCar of Dublin, California, have started each of the first 11 games.
Lucy Dikeou: Tewaaraton Candidate: Junior midfielder and Denver native Lucy Dikeou is the only MPSF player to be among 25 nominated for the Tewaaraton Award, the Heisman of collegiate lacrosse. Five finalists will be determined May 7, with a final ceremony May 28 in Washington, D.C. Here are some facts about her season:
• Only player in the country to average at least 3.30 pts., 3.80 draw controls, 1.60 groundballs, and 1.25 caused turnovers, and have a shot percentage over .500.
• If you take away the shot percentage standard, Dikeou and Maryland’s reigning Tewaaraton winner Taylor Cummings are the only two players in the country to reach each of those standards.
• Only player in the MPSF to rank among the top five in goals, draw controls, and caused turnovers.
• Team leader in points (50), goals (39), shots (73), shots on goal (57), draw controls (57), caused turnovers (19), game-winning goals (4), and free-position goals (10).
• In the past six games, has had eight draw controls in three of them.
• Tied a Stanford single-game record by scoring seven goals in the regular-season finale at California, and also had eight draw controls.
The Nation’s No. 1 Offense: Stanford leads the nation in goals per game. Here are the national top five, with total goals, and average:
1, Stanford (246), 16.40
2, Winthrop (284), 15.78
3, Jacksonville (267), 15.71
3, Florida (267), 15.71
5, Albany (238), 14.88
Stanford’s Balanced Scoring: Eleven players have scored 10 or more goals. Here is the list:
1, Lucy Dikeou, 39
2, Hannah Farr, 29
3, Alexandra Crerend, 26
4, Rachel Ozer, 22
5, Kyle Fraser, 21
6, Kelly Myers, 19
7, Mackenzie Tesei, 18
8, Alex Poplawski, 16
9, Kelsey Murray, 15
10, Elizabeth Cusick, 10
10, Dillon Schoen, 10
Stanford’s 20-Goal Games This Season:
April 26: Stanford 25, California 9*
Feb. 18: Stanford 22, Fresno State 7
March 8: Stanford 22, Vanderbilt 11
April 2: Stanford 22, Saint Mary’s 2
April 7: Stanford 22, San Diego State 10
* School single-game record for goals
Fifth-Year Senior: Rachel Ozer of Moraga, California, was 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 (123, sixth), assists (63, fifth), points (186, fourth), shots (263, eighth), and free-position shots (62, sixth).
Stanford’s all-time points leaders:
1, Megan Burker (2003-06), 207
2, Lauren Schmidt (2007-11), 197
3, Kelsey Twist (2002-05), 189
4, Rachel Ozer (2011-15), 186
No. 1 in Draw Controls: Stanford leads the natoin in draw controls per game. Here are the national leaders:
1, Stanford (249), 16.60
2, Robert Morris (255), 15.94
3, Syracuse (318), 15.90
4, Maryland (261), 15.35
5, Jacksonville (260), 15.29
5, Louisville (260), 15.29
About Draw Controls: In the regular season, Stanford has been outdrawn only twice in 15 games: 16-8 by Notre Dame and 18-14 by Colorado. Stanford’s game-high is 28 against Vanderbilt, with 27 against San Diego State.
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.
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 returned this year.