CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Stanford took the lead on multiple occasions against No. 16 Virginia, but ultimately fell to the Cavaliers, 10-9 on Sunday afternoon in its season-opening game.
Virginia created an early two-goal advantage in the first quarter, but the Cardinal responded quickly to close the gap. Jordyn Case, who played her first collegiate game against the Cavaliers, netted the first goal of the 2024 season and the first of her career to cut into the deficit.
Ailish Kelly then evened the game at two with her first of three goals on the day before Aliya Polisky put the Cardinal in front. Like Case, Polisky recorded her first career goal during her first minutes on the field for the Cardinal.
Stanford entered halftime with a 5-3 advantage over the hosts.
The game continued to be a back-and-forth affair in the second half as the teams traded goals and the lead. At the end of the third quarter, Virginia took an 8-7 lead heading into the final period.
Polisky and Case each scored again in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough to push the Cardinal to victory.
Stanford was dominant statistically against its ranked opponent, tallying more shots (30-18), more shots on goal (21-12), more draw controls (16-5), more free position goals (5-1), and more caused turnovers (11-9).
Kelly and Case paced the Cardinal with three goals each while Polisky added two and Sarah Jaques had one. The Cardinal had three assists on the day, two from Jay Browne and one from Annabel Frist.
Frist displayed her expertise on the draw all day long, leading Stanford to 16-5 advantage, collecting 12 of them herself. Lucy Pearson and Olivia Rose each recorded three caused turnovers to lead the team while Madison McPherson and Rylee Bouvier also chipped in two apiece.
The Cardinal returns to action next weekend again on the east coast. Stanford will face Yale on Saturday, February 17 and Holy Cross on Monday, February 19.
