IRVINE, Calif. - No. 4 Stanford erupted for five goals in the final period, defeating No. 13 UC Santa Barbara 12-8 on Friday afternoon in the opening round of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational.
The two-time defending champion and six-time winner of the event, Stanford (8-2) extended its winning streak to seven in its first action following a 13-day hiatus.
Kamryn Barone fueled the Cardinal with a season-best five goals on seven attempts, with three of her scores coming after halftime.
Sophie Wallace added a pair of goals, increasing her career total to 99. The Cardinal received goals from seven different goal scorers overall.
Tied 4-4, Stanford was able to separate in the final two minutes before halftime, when Barone scored off a feed from Sam Sternfels before Wallace converted a penalty shot.
After a low-scoring third quarter in which both teams found the cage, Stanford took control in the final eight minutes.
Back-to-back goals from Barone and Christina Hicks to open the fourth period put the Cardinal in front 9-5 with 6:20 remaining.
Alissa Pascual's goal with 2:55 left to play gave Stanford its largest lead at 12-7.
Maya Avital finished with 10 saves.
Stanford next faces No. 5 USC on Saturday at 9:15 a.m. in the first of two matches.
Stanford Goals: Kamryn Barone (5), Sophie Wallace (2), Maggie Hawkins (1), Christina Hicks (1), Skyler Jones (1), Alissa Pascual (1), Sophia Sanders (1).