STANFORD, Calif. – A close battle through the first half didn't deter the 17th-ranked Cardinal as Stanford saw Elizabeth Cusick, Kelsey Murray and Anna Salemo complete a trifecta of hat tricks to move Stanford's win streak to three with a 15-10 win over Michigan Tuesday night at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
The Cardinal (4-2) rolled out of the gates quickly with Kelly Myers and Kelsey Murray going back-to-back to make it 2-0, but it would prove to be an incredibly tenacious effort by the Wolverines (0-5) who were able to knot the score seven times in the course of the game – four in the first half alone.
UM's Jess Angerman put the Wolverines on her back with four goals in the game with a pure back-to-back-to-back hat trick in the first half to give Michigan the lead. From there the teams played ping-pong with the lead with four lead changes before Anna Salemo put Stanford up 7-6 with her eighth goal of the year to send it into the half.
Michigan scrapped to open the second half tying the score twice with Stanford, but the Cardinal ultimately ended that with 22 minutes remaining in the half off a nasty assist from Elizabeth Cusick to Kelsey Murray to make it 9-8.
The Cardinal cranked it up the rest of the half, outshooting the Wolverines and besting them in ground balls 14-10 while forcing 13 turnovers. The Cardinal went on a surge through the remaining 20 minutes, heating up for a four-goal streak that it followed with another three unanswered goals to shut the door on Michigan.
The Cardinal returns to action next week as it sets to host the Tribe of William and Mary on Wednesday, March 8. The game is set to start at 7 p.m. at Cagan Stadium.
