STANFORD, Calif. – Defense proved paramount in a game that tied the MPSF’s all-time low in goals scored in a championship game Sunday afternoon as the USC Women of Troy topped the Cardinal 8-5 to claim their first MPSF title.
The stat sheet after the first half saw both squads close to even in nearly every category, except saves as Allie DaCar earned her All-Tournament Team honor with six saves in the first half. USC came out of the gate to score three unanswered goals in the first 13 minutes, with two coming off of free position opportunities.
Anna Salemo and Dillon Schoen went back-to-back to cut the lead to 3-2 before a trade-off of goals sent the teams into the break with USC up 5-3. Salemo led the field with two goals, though USC, the nation’s best defense, stymied the Cardinal attack to take the lead into the half.
Starting the second half Michaela Michael struck the iron while it was hot with her 62nd goal of the season less than two minutes in to help USC edge away 6-3. Laura Klein answered the call next though to keep Stanford in it.
Allie DaCar was on fire again in the half, turning away eight of USC’s 12 shots as the Cardinal offense went silent, putting up only four shots in the half. The Women of Troy put the nail in the coffin with just under three minutes remaining with back-to-back goals to make it 8-4.
Dillon Schoen took the reigns in the following 20 seconds, charging down the field to set up Alex Poplawski to pull it to 8-5, though it didn’t prove enough as USC closed out its first MPSF title in the fourth year of the program.
The Cardinal now awaits its postseason fate with the NCAA Selection Show taking place May 8 at 6 p.m. PT and can be watched live here.
2016 MPSF All-Tournament Team
UC Davis: Ellie Delich
Oregon: Shannon Williams
Denver: Nicole Martindale
Denver: Maddy Stevenson
Colorado: Kelsie Garrison
Colorado: Paige Soenksen
Stanford: Adrienne Anderson
Stanford: Meg Lentz
Stanford: Allie DaCar
USC: Amanda Johansen
USC: Caroline deLyra
USC: Kelsey Dreyer
MVP - USC: Courtney Tarleton