STANFORD, Calif. – Maggie Steffens scored a career-high seven goals and Stanford showed no signs of rust in a 19-2 win over CSU Bakersfield at home Saturday afternoon.
Katie Dudley also had a hat trick for the Cardinal, which played its first game since March 12 after the team wrapped up finals for the winter quarter this week.
The second-ranked Cardinal (15-1, 2-0 MPSF) was able to counter much of the first quarter, leading to multiple one-on-none looks against the Roadrunners (12-13, 0-5 MPSF) and getting out to a 7-0 lead after eight minutes. Steffens scored her first goal 62 seconds into the game to make it 1-0 and added goals with 5:28 and 4:52 left in the opening period. Makenzie Fisher scored twice in the opening period, while Cassidy Papa connected on a lob shot and Jamie Neushul tacked one on in the final minute of the first.
Stanford extended its lead to 9-0 in the second quarter thanks to two more goals from Steffens before Kristen Jensen put CSU Bakersfield on the board with 3:17 left in the first half. Katie Dudley countered with two goals in set to close out the first-half scoring thanks to solid entry passes, giving Stanford an 11-1 lead heading into halftime.
Shannon Cleary lifted the lid on the second-half scoring, putting one past CSU Bakersfield goalkeeper Courtney Wahlstrom 25 seconds into the third quarter. Steffens scored her final two goals of the game in the third, while CSU Bakersfield's Ashley Paz scored the Roadrunners' second and final goal of the game with 4:43 left in the third period.
Taking a 17-2 lead into the fourth, Stanford added on goals from Dani Jackovich and Sophia Monaghan to close out the scoring.
Gabby Stone started in cage and stopped eight shots in three quarters, while Julia Hermann came on in the fourth and made four saves. Wahlstrom made seven saves for the Roadrunners.
Stanford was 2-for-2 on the 6-on-5 and stopped all four of the Roadrunner power plays, including halting a 6-on-4 opportunity for CSU Bakersfield.
Stanford next plays Cal in the Big Splash April 2 in Berkeley in a game that will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
No. 2 Stanford vs. CSU Bakersfield
March 25, 2017 • Stanford, Calif.
CSUB 0 – 1 – 1 – 0 = 2
STAN 7 – 4 – 6 – 2 = 19
Stanford Goals: Maggie Steffens 7, Katie Dudley 3, Makenzie Fischer 2, Dani Jackovich, Jordan Raney, Jamie Neushul, Kat Klass, Shannon Cleary, Cassidy Papa, Sophia Monaghan
Stanford Saves: Gabby Stone 8, Julia Hermann 4
CSU Bakersfield Goals: Kristen Jensen, Ashley Paz
CSU Bakersfield Saves: Courtney Wahlstrom 7
