STANFORD, Calif. - No. 18 Stanford claimed the Pac-12 regular season title outright on Saturday evening by defeating rival California 15-8 on The Farm. The win secured the Cardinal its third Pac-12 regular season title and its 17th regular season conference championship overall.
The Cardinal improves to 11-4 and finishes the regular season a perfect 7-0 in Pac-12 play.
Stanford brought the heat on Saturday, firing 49 shots across the 60 minutes of action. Aliya Polisky led the Cardinal offensively, scoring three goals on 13 shots and adding an assist.
The offensive output was shared among nine different scorers, including some new names this season. Sophia McMahon netted her first goal of the 2024 campaign early in the fourth quarter.
Emma Capanna, a senior defender, scored her first career goal late in the second quarter. After leading Stanford into the offensive zone, she snagged a ground ball and fired it home for just her second career point.
It was the Cardinal's defense, however, that secured the victory. A relentless defensive effort caused 15 turnovers and held the Golden Bears to only 19 shots at Cagan Stadium.
Sophia Brindisi was everywhere for the Cardinal's back line as she caused four turnovers and picked up three ground balls. Madison McPherson was a force as well, leading the team with seven ground balls and causing three turnovers as well.
Lucy Pearson earned the win in goal, allowing only five goals across three quarters of action. She made four saves as well, earning a save percentage of .444.
Olivia Geoghan finished off the fourth quarter, making two saves across the final 15 minutes of action.
Stanford returns to the field next week at the Pac-12 Tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Cardinal will face the winner of No. 4 Arizona State and No. 5 Oregon on Thursday, May 2 in the LA Memorial Coliseum.