BERKELEY, Calif. – Aria Fischer scored a career-high five goals and No. 1 Stanford clinched the top seed in the upcoming MPSF Championship with a 13-12 victory at No. 4 Cal on Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinal is at home the rest of the way. It plays UC Davis and San Jose State at Avery Aquatic Center next Friday and Saturday before hosting both the conference tournament (April 26-28) and the NCAA Championship (May 10-12). Tickets are on sale for both postseason events by clicking here. Admission is free to Stanford's regular-season home games.
Stanford went up by as many as seven, 10-3, late in the first half when Makenzie Fischer scored her second of three with 30 seconds to go before the break. Emma Wright answered for Cal on the next possession and the Cardinal led 10-4 at halftime.
Stanford's second quarter featured six goals with the first three coming from Aria Fischer, the fourth from Kat Klass and the fifth from Sarah Klass before Makenzie Fischer's late second-quarter strike.
The Cardinal was still up five after three quarters, 12-7, but slowly saw its lead dwindle to one late in the game. Cal cut the deficit to three, 12-9, less than two minutes into the fourth, before Aria Fischer broke through for Stanford's final score with 3:05 remaining.
Claire Sonne (2:48) and Emma Wright (2:07) made it 13-11 and then the Golden Bears called timeout after taking over with 52 seconds to go. Following a Stanford exclusion at 39 seconds, Brigit Mulder converted on the power play to inch Cal within one.
Stanford was able to hold on for the victory, its third consecutive one-goal win, and fourth in a row over Cal.
Emalia Eichelberger made a career-high 12 saves in the cage for the Cardinal.
No. 1 Stanford at No. 4 Cal
April 13, 2019 • Berkeley, Calif.
CAL 1 – 3 – 3 – 5 = 12
STAN 4 – 6 – 2 – 1 = 13
Stanford Goals: Aria Fischer 5, Makenzie Fischer 3, Kat Klass 2, Sarah Klass 2, Ryann Neushul 1
Stanford Saves: Emalia Eichelberger 12
