STANFORD, Calif. – Freshman Galen Lew scored a short-handed game-winner in sudden victory overtime to lift No. 19 Stanford women's lacrosse over No. 13 USC, 12-11, at Cagan Stadium on Sunday.
Stanford (7-3, 4-1 Pac-12) rallied from a four-goal deficit in the final 13 minutes and moved into a three-way tie for first-place in the Pac-12 with USC and Colorado.
"We played fearless," head coach Amy Bokker said of the comeback. "We just had to compete and focus for each moment. Our defense was outstanding, and offensively, we had a lot of different people stepping up. "
A post shared by Stanford Women's Lax (@stanfordwlax) on Mar 25, 2018 at 4:39pm PDT
Stanford held USC (6-4, 4-1 Pac-12) scoreless over the final 18:08 of regulation and the 8:37 of overtime play. Senior Allie DaCar made seven saves in that time, including one with 1:06 to play in the final overtime.
The last tally for the Trojans gave the visitors their largest lead of the game, 11-7.
Senior Dillon Schoen started the comeback with back-to-back goals, and Stanford was within 11-9 with 11:47 to play.
Junior Areta Buness recorded her hat trick and pulled the Cardinal within one with 5:05 to play, and then senior Maggie Nick took a pass from Lew and fired the game-tying goal into the back of the net with 3:03 remaining.
USC had the last chance in regulation, but senior captain Madison O'Leary forced a turnover to set up Stanford's first overtime game in more than two years.
USC won the draw control to start overtime and missed two shots before Julia Massaro caused a turnover. Massaro subsequently won the draw control after the team's switched sides in overtime, but Stanford could not capitalize as both teams turned it over to bring on sudden victory.
Junior Genesis Lucero won the game's final draw control, but Stanford went a man down after Schoen took a yellow card. DaCar made a huge save which led to a rush by Stanford. That's when sophomore Daniella McMahon found Lew cutting through the middle for the winner.
Lew ends it!
— Stanford WLAX (@StanfordWLax) March 25, 2018
?? beats No. 13 USC, 12-11, in double overtime! #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/9dOT6DqL2f
Numbers: Schoen, Buness and Lew all had hat tricks, while Lew also had a pair of assists for a team-high five points. Senior Kelsey Murray led the Cardinal with three assists and four ground balls, while Massaro and Lucero each had a team-high four draw controls. DaCar finished with 12 saves as USC held a 32-29 shot advantage. The Trojans also held a slight edge in draw controls, 15-12, but Stanford had the 25-22 advantage on ground balls.
Notables: That was Stanford's first overtime game at home since a 16-15 defeat to Vanderbilt on March 2, 2014, and the first overtime game since a 10-9 victory at No. 19 Johns Hopkins on March 23, 2016. Stanford also snapped a four-game losing streak to USC, dating back to the Cardinal's victory in the 2015 MPSF conference championship game.
Next: A rematch is set for next Sunday as Stanford hits the road to take on the same pair of Pac-12 teams next weekend. On Friday, the Cardinal visits Tempe to take on Arizona State at 5 p.m. PT, and then Stanford and USC square off in Los Angeles on Sunday on Pac-12 Networks at 2 p.m.
#GoStanford