LOS ANGELES – Six players scored twice and No. 2 Stanford rolled to a 14-8 win over No. 8 UC Irvine in the quarterfinals of the NCAA championship on Friday.
Stanford (19-3) advances to tomorrow's second semifinal at 5 p.m. against No. 3 Cal (20-5), which beat No. 9 Michigan 13-6 in the final game of the day.
Madison Berggren, Aria Fischer, Makenzie Fischer, Kat Klass, Jordan Raney and Mackenzie Wiley spread the offensive wealth for the Cardinal while Bella Baldridge and Shannon Cleary each added scores of their own. Stanford's 14 goals were its most at the championship since it opened the 2014 edition with an 18-2 win over Indiana.
Stanford set the tone from the get-go. The Cardinal opened with a Berggren 6-on-5 goal (7:18) after Katie Dudley drew an exclusion on UCI's Isabel Rack. The Anteaters Cara Borkovec found Keana Eldridge to equalize minutes later (5:32) and then Stanford was off to the races, scoring five unanswered to take control.
On the Cardinal's ensuing possession after Irvine tied it up, Klass shed her defender at five meters, spun and got the skip to find the back of the cage (5:01). Stanford shut down the Anteater's power play midway through the period, limiting UCI without a shot, and Berggren hit Raney who scored top corner to make it 3-1 (3:41).
Makenzie Fischer stalled another Irvine 6-on-5 with a steal and Raney scored again with a quick shot off a feed from Klass (2:46). Cleary drew another kickout with the Cardinal coming down the pool on offense and Fischer went far post in the 6-on-5 to keep Stanford rolling (2:01).
Early in the second, Fischer took the ball down the right side and when a UCI defender slid over, she dropped it to the middle and a wide open Berggren to push Stanford's lead to five, 6-1 (6:29).
Corinna Toledo (6:29) and Natalie Seidemann (3:35) pulled UC Irvine within three, but Stanford responded with another extended run, scoring five straight to go up by eight early in the third, 11-3.
Aria Fischer drew an exclusion on Allie Loomis late in the second period and scored quickly on an assist from Klass (3:19). Cleary got on the board with a skip with less than 30 seconds on the clock until the half and with less than a second before the break, Makenzie Fischer also used a skip to score from distance and the Cardinal led 9-3.
Aria Fischer scored cross cage early in the third to keep momentum in Stanford's corner (7:27). At 6:23, Dudley drew another exclusion and Klass was the beneficiary with her second of the afternoon. The Cardinal was 4-of-7 on the power play overall.
Toni Shackelford for UCI and Mackenzie Wiley for Stanford traded goals to close the third. Wiley would add another and freshman Bella Baldridge scored in the fourth to close the book on the Cardinal victory.
No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 8 UC Irvine
May 11, 2018 • Los Angeles, Calif.
UCI 1 – 2 – 1 – 4 = 8
STAN 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 = 14
UC Irvine Goals: Natalie Seidemann 2, Danielle Ayala, Cara Borkovec, Keana Eldridge, Toni Shackelford, Julie Swieca, Corinna Toledo
UC Irvine Saves: Jenna Phreaner 2, Morgan Jones 2, Riley Shaw 1
Stanford Goals: Madison Berggren 2, Aria Fischer 2, Makenzie Fischer 2, Kat Klass 2, Jordan Raney 2, Mackenzie Wiley 2, Bella Baldridge, Shannon Cleary
Stanford Saves: Julia Hermann 1, Emalia Eichelberger 2