STANFORD, Calif. - It was a near-identical performance as No. 20 Stanford women's lacrosse defeated Arizona State for the second time in six days, 14-5, at Cagan Stadium on Friday night.
Junior Mikaela Watson scored three times, while sophomore Katherine Gjertsen added her fourth hat trick of the season to lead Stanford (8-3, 4-2 Pac-12) to its fourth straight win over the Sun Devils.
Last Saturday in Tempe, Stanford led Arizona State, 6-2, at the half, and won 15-4. It was nearly the same outcome on The Farm as the Cardinal led 6-2 at the break and pulled away for a decisive victory.
How It Happened
Arizona State (3-7, 1-5) scored first, but Stanford scored the next five. Gjertsen got Stanford on the board at the 21:15 mark and then capped the five-goal run with her second tally of the game just past the midway point of the half.
The Sun Devils scored first in the second half as well. That closed the Stanford lead to 6-3, but sophomore Ali Baiocco scored twice in 69 seconds for an 8-3 advantage with 22:10 to play.
The lead grew to 11-3 when senior Genesis Lucero scored with 18:18 to go, and sophomore Gabby Noto started a running clock when her second goal of the season made it 14-4 with 8:26 left.
Sophomore goalkeeper Trudie Grattan improved to 8-3 on the year with five saves and just four goals allowed for a .556 save percentage. Freshman Julia Cooper protected the net over the final nine minutes and made one save and allowed just one past.
By the Numbers
Baiocco finished with three points (two goals, one assist), while Lucero scored twice on two shots, and scooped two ground balls and three draw controls.
Defensively, junior Kyra Pelton led the Cardinal with a career-high four ground balls, while junior Kira Lopes had three ground balls and freshman Maggie Bellaschi also added three. Bellaschi also led the team with two caused turnovers.
Junior Daniella McMahon scored twice and sophomore Galen Lew added two assists and a ground ball. Junior Jacie Lemos had a goal and two ground balls.
Senior Julia Massaro extended the school's career record with a team-high five draw controls.
Stanford outshot the Sun Devils, 27-17, held a 25-21 edge in ground balls and led 14-7 in draw controls. The Cardinal caused nine of Arizona State's 19 turnovers.
Next Up
Stanford is back in action on Sunday at 1 p.m. in another six-day rematch. The Cardinal hosts No. 16 USC on Pac-12 Networks. The two teams played to the buzzer on Monday as Stanford's tying goal with one second remaining was disallowed.
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