IRVINE, Calif. – Maggie Steffens scored seven times on day two of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational and No. 1 Stanford advanced to Sunday's title game with wins over No. 8 Michigan, 13-5, and No. 4 California, 12-9.
The Cardinal (11-0) will play No. 2 USC tomorrow at 1 p.m. for its fourth invitational title in Irvine and its first since 2011.
No. 1 Stanford 13 – No. 8 Michigan 5
Stanford, which entered Saturday outscoring its opponents 42-8 in first halves this season, scored nine in the first 16 minutes against the Wolverines to take a commanding 9-1 lead at the break.
Jamie Neushul scored the Cardinal's first three to lead the charge, sandwiching two even-strength scores around a successful five-meter penalty. Katie Dudley converted in the 6-on-5 with 1:20 to go in the period and Maggie Steffens tallied her first of a big day to push Stanford to a four-goal edge.
The Cardinal's Shannon Cleary (7:25), Dudley (5:54), Dani Jackovich (3:50) and Madison Berggren (0:09) rattled the cage in the second while Gabby Stone walled up and made six saves to keep Michigan scoreless.
Cleary tacked on her second of the game 30 seconds into the third quarter before Steffens secured the hat trick with goals at 5:14 and 0:22 to offset a pair of scores from Michigan's Julia Sellers.
Cassidy Wiley's power play goal at 4:23 was Stanford's only mark in the fourth. Julia Hermann played the final quarter in the cage and made two saves.
No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 8 Michigan
Feb. 25, 2017 • Irvine, Calif.
MICH 1 – 0 – 2 – 2 = 5
STAN 5 – 4 – 3 – 1 = 13
Stanford Goals: Jamie Neushul 3, Maggie Steffens 3, Shannon Cleary 2, Katie Dudley 2, Madison Berggren, Dani Jackovich, Cassidy Wiley
Stanford Saves: Gabby Stone 6, Julia Hermann 2
No. 1 Stanford 12 – No. 4 California 9
Led by Makenzie Fischer's five goal outburst, Stanford beat Cal for the second time this season in the tournament's first semifinal. The Cardinal's two Olympians, Fischer and Steffens, combined for nine of their team's 12 goals.
Three games after Fischer scored five against an unranked Santa Clara squad to earn MPSF/Kap7 Newcomer of the Week honors, she did it again against the No. 4 Golden Bears. The freshman scored twice in the first, once in the second and twice in the third while the senior Steffens spread hers out, notching one in each period.
Another strong start proved to be the difference for Stanford, which outscored Cal 3-1 in the first. Steffens led things off at 7:28 before Dora Antal evened it up for the Bears at 5:57. Fischer came up big with a pair of goals, one at even strength (4:57) and another in the 6-on-5 (0:55) to give the Cardinal a two-goal lead.
The teams matched each other goal for goal over the next 16 minutes, each scoring seven times. Steffens and Fischer had five of those for Stanford and were aided with timely tallies from Jamie Neushul in the second and Dani Jackovich in the third.
Stanford, which lead 10-8 heading into the final frame, stretch its advantage to 12-8 after Steffens collected her fourth (7:27) and Jackovich her second (5:49). Cal would add one late to make the final margin three.
Gabby Stone made seven saves and Stanford went 4-for-9 in the 6-on-5.
With 191 career goals, Steffens moved past Margie Dingeldein (187) and into fifth in Stanford history. Melissa Seidemann (237), Lauren Silver (237), Kiley Neushul (222) and Ellen Estes (214) are the program's 200-goal scorers.
No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 4 California
Feb. 25, 2017 • Irvine, Calif.
CAL 1 – 3 – 4 – 1 = 9
STAN 3 – 3 – 4 – 2 = 12
Stanford Goals: Makenzie Fischer 5, Maggie Steffens 4, Dani Jackovich 2, Jamie Neushul
Stanford Saves: Gabby Stone 7
