BERKELEY, Calif. - No. 21 Stanford continued its dominance of California on Friday afternoon, defeating the Golden Bears 3-2 in the first of two meetings between the Bay Area rivals.
Corinne Zanolli paced Stanford (9-4, 2-0 America East) with a pair of goals, increasing her season total to 18, which ranks second in the country. The Cardinal received three shots apiece from Zanolli and Emma Christus, who tapped home her sixth goal of the season.
Coming off a road split against top-10 competition last weekend, the Cardinal shifted its attention to conference play and strengthened its grip in the rivalry series. Stanford has won 10 of the last 12 matchups overall and owns a 21-6 record against the Golden Bears over the last 11 seasons.
When you beat the rival on a Friday night. #GoStanford
A post shared by Stanford Field Hockey (@stanfordfieldhockey) on Oct 12, 2018 at 6:29pm PDT
Christus opened the scoring in the sixth minute, collecting a pass from Phoebe Crosthwaite and beating Cal goalkeeper Natalie Dalton.
Six minutes before halftime, Zanolli scored the first of her two goals, converting off a penalty corner with assists from Christus and Frances Carstens.
California (3-9, 0-2 America East) got on the board two minutes into the second half when Megan Rodgers scored unassisted.
Zanolli, who has already surpassed her scoring total of 15 goals last year as a rookie, answered in the 43rd minute, putting Stanford in front 3-1.
56' | 3-1 STAN
— Stanford Field Hockey (@StanfordFH) October 13, 2018
?? Gonna have to be better than that against @Kelsey_Bing. Watch live on @Pac12Network. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/mtnVV8bfq1
The Golden Bears received another goal from Rodgers at the 66:19 mark but Stanford was able to close out the victory.
California held a 10-9 edge in shots while Stanford attempted six of the game's 10 penalty corners.
Friday's game was the first of two nationally-televised games on Pac-12 Networks, with the second coming on Oct. 21 when California visits the Varsity Turf.
Stanford returns to action on Monday, Oct. 15, hosting William & Mary at 3 p.m.