EUGENE, Ore. – Senior Julia Massaro obliterated the school record with 18 draw controls to lead No. 18 Stanford women's lacrosse to an 18-12 victory over Oregon on Sunday afternoon at Pape Field.
By halftime, Massaro had already tied her previous school record with 11 draw controls, which she set at Cal last season (April 20, 2018). En route to the record, she also became the first player in school history to eclipse 200 career draw controls.
Sophomore Ali Baiocco recorded a career-high eight points with a team-best five goals and three assists.
How It Happened
Stanford (11-4, 6-3 Pac-12) won its third straight and never trailed. Four different goal scorers gave the Cardinal a 4-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest.
Oregon (3-13, 1-8) responded with the next three, but Stanford scored six of the next seven and nine of the last 11 of the half. Baiocco scored three straight times in a seven-minute span for a 10-4 lead, and junior captain Mikaela Watson capped the first half with a goal in the final minute to send the Cardinal into the intermission with a 12-5 advantage.
Senior Areta Buness registered her 100th career point with a goal in the second half that gave Stanford a 14-5 lead with 28:34 left.
Sophomore Katherine Gjertsen gave Stanford its largest lead, 16-6, with 20:46 remaining.
Oregon battled back with six straight and was within 16-12 at the 2:26 mark, but Buness and sophomore Galen Lew capped the scoring.
By the Numbers
Behind Massaro, Stanford won 26 of 32 draw controls. Oregon led 24-23 in ground balls, but was outshot by the Cardinal, 42-25, including 33-21 on goal.
Senior Genesis Lucero won five draw controls, scooped up a ground ball and added an assist and goal.
Buness finished with a hat trick, three ground balls, two caused turnovers and two draw controls. Watson also had a hat trick and three ground balls, while Lew finished with a hat trick, ground ball and caused turnover.
Sophomore Trudie Grattan (seven) and freshman Julia Cooper (two) combined to make nine saves.
Notables
The NCAA record for draw controls is 24, set by Jessica Karwack of Robert Morris in 2015 … Only one other Cardinal has ever recorded double-digit draw controls in a game—Kelly Myers had 10 against Vanderbilt in 2015.
Next Up
Stanford returns home for Senior Day on Friday against Cal. The regular season finale will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks at 5 p.m.
Stanford has clinched at least the No. 3 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament, which begins on April 25 in Eugene. Tickets can be purchased here.