No. 23 Stanford (13-6, 7-3 Pac-12)
NCAA First Round
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STANFORD, Calif. - Behind a pair of All-Americans, Stanford women's lacrosse reached the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year and eighth time in the last 10 seasons with a 13-6 record overall and 7-3 mark in Pac-12 play.
Season Notables
» Stanford made its 10th NCAA appearance. In its 26th year as a program, Stanford made one NCAA Tournament in the first 14 years, but has made nine appearances in the last 12 years.
» Three of Stanford's four regular season losses came at the buzzer. The Cardinal scored the potential game-tying goal in the season opener against Denver but it was ruled to cross the goal line after the buzzer. The Cardinal also scored the potential game-tying goal with one second left at USC on March 25, but it was disallowed as a dangerous follow through. On March 31, Stanford lost to the Trojans in the third overtime.
» Stanford's only losses in 2019 were to ranked teams—at the buzzer in the season opener against No. 19 Denver, twice against No. 22 Colorado, in the final second at No. 16 USC, in overtime against the Trojans at home, and against No. 7 Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament.
» Stanford's 15-12 victory at then-No. 10 Stony Brook on March 3 was the program's first road victory over a top 10 opponent since Feb. 28, 2015 at No. 10 Ohio State (12-10). It also halted Stony Brook's 33-game home winning streak at LaValle Stadium, which dated back to 2016.
» Stanford went 7-3 away from The Farm in 2019, including two wins over ranked opponents.
» Stanford played eight games against NCAA tourney teams and went 2-6 with wins at then-No. 10 Stony Brook, 15-12, on March 3, and at then-No. 22 Colorado, 13-12, on April 12.
» Representing three different classes, senior Julia Massaro, junior Daniella McMahon, junior Mikaela Watson and sophomore Taylor Scornavacco were selected as 2019 team captains.
» Stanford will say goodbye to three seniors: Areta Buness, Monika Sivilli and Julia Massaro. Senior Genesis Lucero will return for a fifth year in 2020. The foursome led the Cardinal to 55 victories, including the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament championship last season, and three NCAA tournament appearances.
Pac-12 Leaders
» Half the Pac-12 teams reached the NCAA Tournament, with a conference-record three teams in the field, including Colorado and USC -- second-only to the ACC (5) and Big Ten (4).
» Stanford led the Pac-12 with six all-league selections, led by first team honorees, Baiocco and Massaro.
» Stanford led the conference with 13.9 goals per game, 6.6 assists per game and 20.5 points per game.
» The Cardinal also led the Pac-12 with 15.3 draw controls per game and .431 shooting percentage.
» Ali Baiocco led the league with 80 points and was second with 52 goals. She also ranked second in the conference with 28 assists. Baiocco was the fourth player in school history with 50 goals in a season.
Draw Control Records
» Senior Julia Massaro set the program's draw control records for a game, season and career in 2019.
» On April 14, Massaro's 18 draw controls at Oregon broke the program's single-game standard, which she previously set at 11. In the same game, Massaro broke her own single-season record for draw controls, which was 86 in 2018. At the Pac-12 Tournament, she became the first player in school history to surpass 100 draw controls in a season, and finished with 103 in 2019.
» On March 23 at Arizona State, Massaro surpassed the program's 14-year-old career draw controls record of 161 held by Kelsey Twist (2002-05). Massaro is the only player in school history to win more than 200 draw controls (finished with 224), but Genesis Lucero is just two away from that milestone.
» Senior Genesis Lucero also passed Kelsey Twist's old career record with her 162nd career draw control on March 29 against Arizona State. Lucero has 198 in her Stanford career.
Team USA Visit
» Stanford hosted Team USA at the US Lacrosse Spring Premiere, Jan. 25-27.
» The event featured the U.S. women's national team and U19 team as well as the English National Team, the Japanese developmental team, Fresno State University and the defending Pac-12 tournament champion Stanford Cardinal.
» Stanford played an exhibition against Team USA and the U19 team. In two quarters against the U19 squad and four quarters against the national team, the Cardinal fell 19-14.
» Stanford assistant coach Kristen Carr and former Stanford assistant Caylee Waters played for Team USA.
Pink Game
» Stanford is hosted its Pink Game to raise awareness for breast cancer.
» The team wore pink socks, pink laces and pink warmup shirts, and the field lines at Cagan were painted pink.
» Stanford's honorary team captain was Kellee Noonan. Kellee is a breast cancer survivor and she and her husband, Douglas, are loyal fans of the program. Kellee was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2004 and underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments in 2005. As a 14-year survivor, she shows no indication of any remaining cancer.
» Cancer research has produced treatments that have progressed in effectiveness but the most important factor is to catch it early with regular exams & mammograms. Don't forget that men can get breast cancer, too so everyone should talk with their doctor if they have concerns.
Honorees
» Senior defender Julia Massaro and sophomore attack Ali Baiocco were named Inside Lacrosse Media All-America honorable mention and IWLCA First-Team All-Region.
» A league-best six members were named All-Pac-12, including first-team honorees Julia Massaro and Ali Baiocco. Senior Genesis Lucero, junior Mikaela Watson, junior Daniella McMahon and sophomore Katherine Gjertsen earned second team recognition.
» Boosted by a league-high three first-team selections, Stanford led the conference with 19 Pac-12 All-Academic honorees. A full list of honorees is here.
» Sophomore goalkeeper Trudie Grattan became the first player to win three Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week awards in a season and career on March 25. Grattan also won on Feb. 25 and March 4.
» Grattan was the first Pac-12 goalkeeper to win the weekly Pac-12 award in back-to-back weeks—just the second player (any position) to win two straight defensive honors.
» Baiocco was also named the Brine/US Lacrosse National Player fo the Week on March 5.
What's Ahead
» On June 12, Danielle Spencer was named head coach of Stanford women's lacrosse, as announced by Jaquish & Kenninger Director of Athletics Bernard Muir.
» Spencer, who served as an assistant at Stanford in 2012, returns to The Farm after she turned around the Dartmouth program in just three years and earned Ivy League Coach of the Year honors in each of her final two seasons.
» Spencer inherited a program coming off three consecutive losing campaigns, but the Big Green won 11 games in her second year and captured an Ivy League regular season title in her third season.
» Spencer will take over a Stanford program that finished 13-6 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. The Cardinal returns its top four scorers, as well as nine of 11 starters and its starting goalkeeper.
» More on Coach Spencer here.
Follow the Cardinal
» You can follow Cardinal lacrosse all year long on instagram, twitter and snapchat (@StanfordWlax).