EVANSTON, Ill. - No. 17 Stanford fell to No. 12 Denver in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, 13-12. The Pioneers advance to face No. 1 Northwestern on Sunday.
The Cardinal concludes its season with a 13-5 record.
Stanford came out swinging in its second game against Denver this season, as Sarah Jaques scored the first goal of the game barely 15 seconds after the opening whistle. The two teams entered the first quarter break knotted up at four apiece.
The second quarter swung the Pioneers' way, with a 4-1 advantage in the period, but Stanford countered with a 3-2 third quarter to pull the game within two. The Cardinal battled all the way back to a one score game on multiple occasions, including with 25 seconds left in the game following a Jordyn Case free position goal.
Jay Browne secured the final draw control of the game but was fouled in the offensive zone. Unable to restart play until the referee set the players amidst a running clock, Stanford was left without a shot to tie the game in the closing seconds.
Maddigan Miller provided a valuable spark on offense, scoring her first career hat trick while netting her fifth, sixth, and seventh goals of the season. Aliya Polisky also recorded a hat trick on the day, Moving up to 53 goals and 120 shots on the season.
In the Stanford record book, her season shot total set a new program record while her season goal total ties her for the fourth most in Stanford history.
Jordyn Case, Jay Browne, and Sarah Jaques each tallied two goals to round out Stanford's scoring. Case finishes the 2024 season with 114 shots, now tied with Ali Baiocco for second in the record book behind Polisky. Her 48 goals are tied for the 10th best mark in program history.
Lucy Pearson constantly made stops throughout the game to keep Stanford in it. She recorded 11 saves on the day, including five in the third quarter while the Cardinal made a push to try and tie the game up.
Six of Stanford's 12 goals came from free position attempts and the Cardinal also won the draw control battle, 15-14. Madison McPherson collected six controls while Jordyn Case had four and Jay Browne had two.
McPherson also caused three turnovers in the game, moving her into a tie for the program record in a single season with 36. She and Kate Bellissimo led the team in ground balls, each picking up three.
This concludes Stanford's 2024 season.
