IRVINE, Calif. – USC went on a three-goal run midway through the fourth quarter to break a 7-7 tie and No. 2 Stanford lost its first game of the season to the top-ranked Trojans, 10-8, in the championship of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational on Sunday.
Stanford (10-1) had erased a two-goal deficit with a 6-on-5 score from Cassidy Wiley late in the third quarter (2:08) and an even-strength strike from Kat Klass in the fourth (5:37) to even things at 7-7 before USC went on its game-clinching run.
Aided by a couple of turnovers that led to 1v0 and 2v1 opportunities, the Trojans scored three times in less than a minute to put the game away. Denise Mammolito (5:15), Tilly Kearns (4:55) and Paige Hauschild (4:22) rattled the cage to give USC its largest lead, 10-7, with just over a half a quarter to play.
Those three goals in 60 seconds were all the Trojans would need. Sarah Klass pulled the Cardinal within two, 10-8, at 2:11 in the fourth, but that would be her team's final tally.
Klass score three times for Stanford, which dropped its first game of 2019 following 10 consecutive wins to open the year. Makenzie Fischer added a pair for the Cardinal, while Kat Klass, Ryann Neushul and Wiley each scored once.
USC led the entire way until Stanford tied it with Kat Klass' goal in the final period. The Trojans scored the first three before Sarah Klass (3:59) and Fischer (3:41) pulled the Cardinal back within one, 3-2. Grace Tehaney for USC and Neushul for Stanford traded goals at the end of the first to make it 4-3 USC after one.
Each team scored once in the second, with USC's goal coming from Kelsey McIntosh (4:08) and Stanford's from Sarah Klass (1:14). The two sides traded goals again in the third, with the scores coming from Maud Megens (5:04), Makenzie Fischer (4:30), Hauschild (2:40) and Wiley (2:08).
Stanford and USC will meet again in conference action on March 30 in Los Angeles. The Cardinal returns home to host Santa Clara this coming Friday at 6 p.m.
No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 1 USC
Feb. 24, 2019 • Irvine, Calif.
USC 4 – 1 – 2 – 3 = 10
STAN 3 – 1 – 2 – 2 = 8
USC Goals: Paige Hauschild 2, Alejandra Aznar 1, Tilly Kearns 1, Denise Mammolito 1, Kelsey McIntosh 1, Maud Megens 1, Nadia Pavlovich 1, Grace Tehaney 1, Bayley Weber 1
Stanford Goals: Sarah Klass 3, Makenzie Fischer 2, Kat Klass 1, Ryann Neushul 1, Cassidy Wiley 1
