DAVIS, Calif. – A dominant offensive performance with four goals from Elizabeth Cusick and hat tricks from Kelly Myers and Maggie Nick propelled the 12th-ranked Cardinal to a 20-10 win over UC Davis in its season opener Friday night.
The first half saw Stanford's (1-0, 1-0 MPSF) Anna Salemo come out to score the first goal of the year just three minutes into the game, but UCD (0-1, 0-1 MPSF) answered immediately to make it 1-1. The Cardinal scored the next two to make it 3-1, but the Aggies stayed on Stanford's heels throughout most of the half.
While the Cardinal never trailed, the Aggies were able to tie it three times before Stanford turned it on in the last five minutes to score four unanswered goals to head into the break up 9-5. Alex Poplawski was a stand-out for Stanford in the half with seven draw controls, two goals, and an assist to lead the way.
The second half was all Stanford, as it scored 11 goals to UCD's five while Allie DaCar did work in the cage with five of her seven saves coming in the half. Elizabeth Cusick was unstoppable with three of her four goals – two from free position shots.
On the night the Cardinal went 5-6 in free position shots with Dillon Schoen scoring twice to pick up where she left off in 2016 where she finished 3rd in the NCAA in free position shot percentage.
The Cardinal returns to action Sunday as Stanford sets to host its home opener against the Denver Pioneers. Game time is set for noon PT at Cagan Stadium in Stanford, Calif.
