STANFORD, Calif. – A tough Denver defense and solid play in the cage by DU's Maddy Stevenson paved the way for the Pioneers as the 12th-ranked Cardinal fell 10-7 Sunday afternoon at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
In the first half Denver (3-0) jumped out to a quick three goal lead in the first five minutes that was broken up by Kelsey Murray scoring off a free position shot to make it 3-1. The Pioneers kept at the Cardinal (1-1) defense, scoring two more goals until Alex Poplawski set up Maggie Nick on a drive to cut DU's lead to 5-2.
Another Denver goal was met with back-to-back free position goals from Kelly Myers and Dillon Schoen as the Cardinal scrapped back into the game. Poplawski added her second assist of the day with 23 seconds remaining to Dillon Schoen as the teams headed into the half with DU holding a 7-5 lead.
The second half started off in similar fashion with Denver adding two more goals while the Cardinal offense struggled to find its composure as several Stanford shots found the post or went wide of the cage.
Hannah Dudley scored her first career goal on a free position shot to push the score to 9-6 in favor of the Pioneers, but DU answered the goal as Maddy Stevenson put up a phenomenal 16 saves in the game to keep the Cardinal attack at bay and close out the 10-7 win.
The Cardinal takes to the road this week as it sets to travel to Dallas, Texas to take on No. 10 Duke in the Patriot Cup. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, February 18 at the Ford Center.
