IRVINE, Calif. – Julia Hermann made 13 saves, the Cardinal's defense held USC scoreless in the second half and top-ranked Stanford won the 2018 Barbara Kalbus Invitational by beating the No. 3 Trojans 9-3 on Sunday afternoon.
Stanford (11-0) took home its fourth Barbara Kalbus Invitational title and first since 2011. The Cardinal, which also won it all in 2007 and 2009, is 40-8 all-time at the annual tournament, which began in 2007.
The Cardinal was in front 3-2 early in the second quarter before it reeled of four consecutive goals to grow its lead to 7-2. Madison Berggren scored her second of the afternoon when Kat Klass hit the lefty in the 6-on-5 with 5:04 until halftime.
Klass again orchestrated the offense for Stanford and found Cassidy Wiley less than a minute later for Wiley's seventh goal of the season. Aria Fischer took advantage after she drew an exclusion to put the Cardinal on the power play and rattled the cage at 3:21.
Makenzie Fischer scored with 23 seconds to go for Stanford and USC's Verica Bakoc finally stopped the run on the Trojans' next possession.
Bakoc's goal would be the final score for USC, which came into the tournament averaging 14.14 goals per game. The Trojans wouldn't score in the second half and Makenzie Fischer (4:07) and Jordan Raney (3:28) added some third-quarter insurance for the Cardinal.
Hermann stopped 13 of the 16 shots she faced (81.3 percent) and had the 11th double-digit save performance of her career and first this season. USC had 10 power play opportunities, but only converted once. The Cardinal was 3-of-4 in its 6-on-5 chances.
The margin of victory was Stanford's largest over USC since a 10-4 win on Feb. 25, 2007 in the semifinals of the same tournament.
The Cardinal is back in action at home next Sunday at 5 p.m. when it begins its MPSF schedule with a game against Cal televised on Pac-12 Networks.
No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 3 USC
Feb. 25, 2018 • Irvine, Calif.
USC 1 – 2 – 0 – 0 = 3
STAN 3 – 4 – 2 – 0 = 9
USC Goals: Verica Bakoc, Paige Hauschild, Denise Mammolito
USC Saves: Amanda Longan 11
Stanford Goals: Madison Berggren 2, Makenzie Fischer 2, Katie Dudley, Aria Fischer, Kat Klass, Jordan Raney, Cassidy Wiley
Stanford Saves: Julia Hermann 13
