EUGENE, Ore. – Senior Genesis Lucero and sophomore Katherine Gjertsen led No. 20 Stanford women's lacrosse as the third-seeded Cardinal knocked off sixth-seeded Oregon, 17-6, in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday night at Pape Field.
Stanford (13-4) won its fifth straight and advances to take on second-seeded Colorado, which had a bye into the semifinals, on Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Pac-12 Network.
Lucero's 10 draw controls were the third-most in school history and she also added two goals and two assists. Meanwhile, Gjertsen matched a career-high with six points on four goals and two assists.
How It Happened
Oregon (3-15) scored first, but Stanford scored eight of the next nine and never looked back.
Lucero capped that run when she gave the Cardinal an 8-2 lead with 2:10 to go left in the first half.
Senior Monika Sivilli and Gjertsen scored in the final 90 seconds of the half to give Stanford a 10-3 advantage at the break.
Gjertsen finished off a natural hat trick with the first two goals of the second half for a 12-3 lead, and assisted on junior Jacie Lemos' goal that started a running clock with 20:24 remaining.
Junior Hannah Dudley scored to make it 15-4 with 18:48 to go, and sophomore Emma Knaus closed out the scoring with 51 seconds to play.
By the Numbers
Stanford out-shot the Ducks, 47-13. The Cardinal also won the last 13 draw controls, including all 10 in the second half and finished with a 19-5 advantage.
Stanford held a 22-16 edge in ground balls and was perfect on its 16 clear attempts.
Defensively, the Cardinal caused 16 turnovers, led by Lew, who finished with a career-high four.
Stanford had 11 different goal scorers and assisted 12 of its 16 goals, including a career-high four assists from sophomore Ali Baiocco, who finished with five points.
Freshman Caitlin Chicoski scored twice, senior Areta Buness led the Cardinal with five ground balls and added two caused turnovers, and senior Julia Massaro won four draw controls while junior Kyra Pelton won three.
Junior Kira Lopes scooped up three ground balls. Watson finished with two goals, an assist and two caused turnovers.
Notables
Stanford improved to 3-0 all-time in the Pac-12 Tournament ... Lucero is the third Cardinal to reach double-digit draw controls in a game, joining Massaro (twice) and Kelly Myers ... Just 11 days ago, on the same field, Massaro set the program's single-game draw control record with 18.
Next Up
Stanford and No. 22 Colorado will meet for the third time this season. They split their two previous matchups. Last season, Stanford won the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament championship game with a win over the Buffaloes in Boulder.
The winner of Stanford and Colorado will take on the winner of top-seeded USC and fourth-seeded Cal, which play at 4:30 p.m. on Friday at Pape Field.
Sunday's Pac-12 championship game at Pape Field is set for 1 p.m. on Pac-12 Network.
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— Stanford Lacrosse (@StanfordWLax) April 26, 2019
Roll 'em » ??#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/l8FqB8hgwt