STANFORD – Freshman Ali Baiocco scored four times for No. 24 Stanford women's lacrosse, but the Cardinal fell to No. 2 Stony Brook, 15-9, in the home opener at Cagan Stadium on Monday.
Stanford (0-2) trailed by as many as eight, but outscored the Seawolves in the second half and rallied in the closing minutes.
Senior captain Dillon Schoen scored back-to-back goals to pull the Cardinal within 13-8 at the 4:18 mark, but Stony Brook (2-0) kept Stanford at bay with two of the final three goals.
Baiocco got the scoring started just two minutes into the contest and Stanford held a brief lead before the Seawolves rallied off three straight.
Senior Maggie Nick stopped that Stony Brook streak when she buried one in the back of the net to pull Stanford within 3-2 at the 23:15 mark of the opening half.
However, the visitors scored seven in a row for a 10-2 lead.
Sophomore Daniella McMahon got one back just before the half to make it 10-3 heading into intermission.
Baiocco then scored Stanford's first two goals of the second half, but the Seawolves maintained a 13-5 lead.
3rd goal of the game for Ali Baiocco! Assisted by Kelsey Murray. pic.twitter.com/pj0HSfdH22
— Stanford W Lacrosse (@StanfordWLax) February 20, 2018
That's when the Cardinal gained momentum with three straight goals – started by junior Areta Buness and finished by Schoen's pair of scores – but the rally fell short.
Schoen finished with the two goals. Senior captain Kelsey Murray extended her point streak to 57 games with a pair of assists. Buness had a team-high four ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Julia Massaro and Genesis Lucero each won four draw controls.
Both teams won 13 draw controls and Stony Brook held a slight edge in ground balls (21-20) and shots (31-26).
Next up, Stanford hosts Harvard at Cagan Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m.
#GoStanford