STANFORD, Calif. – A dominant team effort that saw Fran Tew score twice led No. 18 Stanford to a 6-1 win over the UC Davis Aggies in a season-high for goals scored at Varsity Turf Friday night.
The first half saw the Cardinal (8-5, 4-1 America East) come out fierce, taking a penalty corner in the fifth minute that saw the first shot blocked, but found Fran Tew waiting to crush a second shot into the net to make it 1-0. Stanford controlled the pace of the half with steady control of possession throughout.
Stanford struck again in the ninth minute, as leading goal scorer Jessica Welch was set up by Katie Keyser on a penalty corner that she demolished into the net to make it 2-0. The Aggies (4-11, 0-4 America East) came to scrap though as they put up seven shots in the half, striking back with a penalty corner of their own to make it 2-1 headed into the break.
"Tonight we saw a great team performance and a commitment to each other and to the game plan," stated Tara Danielson, "We brought a lot of energy tonight and were aggressive both defensively and on our offensive attacks."
The second half saw the Cardinal put on a clinic, putting up 14 shots while blanking the Aggies on defense. Ten minutes into the half the Cardinal took one of its eight penalty corners with another shot deflected that found Fran Tew waiting again for a rebound that she took top shelf to tie her career-high of two goals.
"We've been practicing hard on corners all week and tonight we executed all the things we've been working on as a team." commented Tew, "We've worked on improving our mentality every game and tonight showed how much progress we've made."
The Cardinal refused to rest as Emma Christus scored her first career goal after a cross to the top of the circle saw Christus wind up for a shot that wouldn't be denied. Kristina Bassi also flashed some stick work in the 52nd minute as Casey Deeds sent a pass across the middle that Bassi collected with a first touch move away from the defender before dropping in her third goal of the season. Katie Keyser jumped on the offensive assault in the 58th minute as the UC Davis goalie dove for a save that Keyser put away on the rebound to pull the score to its 6-1 final.
The Cardinal will close out its 2016 home season on Sunday as it sets to host rival, Cal at 1 p.m. at Varsity Turf. The game will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Network.