BOULDER, Colo. – Stanford’s resounding and statement-making 14-7 victory over defending conference champion Denver on Friday will be put in a different perspective if the Cardinal fails to go undefeated during the two-game Colorado road swing. At the moment, it appears as if Stanford has returned to the strong play that greeted early-season victims like Notre Dame and Ohio State, each ranked. Stanford (6-2 overall, 2-0 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) will need to as it travels to a dangerous Colorado team (6-3, 1-1) before returning home before a Thursday night game against Oregon.
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The following is a closer look at Sunday’s game:
Who: No. 13 Stanford (6-2, 2-0) at Colorado (6-3, 1-1)
When: Sunday, 11 a.m. PT (noon MT)
Where: Kittredge Field, Boulder, Colo.
All-Time Series Record: Stanford leads, 2-0
TV: Live on Pac-12 Networks (Jason Knapp and Kara Lentz on the call)
Live Stats: Click here
Forecast: Sunny, 60 degrees at opening draw.
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The Stanford-Colorado Series: Stanford leads the all-time series, 2-0, after a pair of victories last year in Colorado’s inaugural season. In an MPSF semifinal in Boulder, Kyle Fraser came off the bench to score a career-high six goals -- one off the school record -- to lead Stanford to a 15-6 victory. On April 6 at Stanford, the Cardinal won 13-5. Colorado goalie Paige Soenksen recorded her career-high and 2014 MPSF-high tying 19 saves in that game. Stanford took a season-high 40 shots in the game and Megan Lerner had eight draw controls, one off her own school record. Stanford took a 5-0 lead and held Colorado scoreless for the first 23 minutes.
This Season: Stanford opened the season 4-0 and reached No. 9 in the IWLCA rankings. It claimed 12-10 victories over two ranked teams, Notre Dame and Ohio State, but Penn State rallied to a 17-15 victory on March 24 to halt the undefeated season. Stanford would lose two of three, including a 15-7 loss at home to unranked Cornell on Tuesday. – Stanford’s worst loss since 2012. However, before anyone could rightfully count Stanford out, the Cardinal bolted to a 10-1 first-half lead at Denver, the defending MPSF champion and the favorite of conference coaches before this season.