BERKELEY, Calif. - The Cardinal concluded the regular season on Friday with a dominant win over cross-bay rival California, 18-8. The win solidified Stanford's position as the number two seed in the Pac-12 Lacrosse Tournament, set to take place in Berkeley from May 3-6.
The win completed the season sweep for Stanford over California and moves the Cardinal to 10-7 and 8-2 in Pac-12 play. Stanford has now completed nine straight 10 win seasons (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season).
The Golden Bears had an advantage early, going up 2-0 in the first quarter, but Stanford responded quickly with goals from Jay Browne, Katy Gilbert, and Annabel Frist to tie the game at three heading into the first break. From there, Stanford's offense took off, outscoring the hosts 15-5 over the rest of the game.
Ashley Humphrey led all players in points, tallying seven coming from four goals and three assists. Her fifth hat trick this season pushed her season total to 33 goals and 73 points, the second-best point total in the conference.
Humphrey was one of three Cardinal to register a hat trick, as she was joined by Jay Browne and Ailish Kelly who each had three goals. Sarah Jaques pitched in a hat trick of assists while 11 players recorded a goal or an assist.
Stanford's offense was firing all game long, registering 50 shots, a season-high mark by 10. The team's 37 shots on goal were also a season-best, eight more than the 29 shots on goal at Arizona State and in the previous matchup against California.
The Cardinal won the draw control battle 18-14, thanks in large part to Ailish Kelly and Annabel Frist. Each player tallied seven controls in Berkeley to give Stanford the advantage in the center circle.
Defensively, Stanford applied the pressure on the Golden Bears all game long, causing four turnovers in the game. California committed 13 turnovers in total against the Cardinal's five.
Kara Rahaim anchored Stanford's defense, playing all 60 minutes in goal and registering seven saves. She extended her lead in the conference for total saves, moving up to 166 on the season.
Stanford returns to action next week in the Pac-12 Lacrosse Tournament. The competition begins on Wednesday, May 3 in Berkeley, with No. 4 Arizona State facing No. 5 California and No. 6 Oregon taking on No. 3 Colorado.
By earning the second seed, Stanford has a first round bye and will face the winner of Colorado and Oregon on Thursday, May 4 at 7 p.m.