Ava ArceriAva Arceri
Matias Falckenheiner
Women's Lacrosse

A Matter of Inches

No. 10/9 Stanford falls in overtime to No. 4 Florida by smallest of margins, 13-12

Box Score

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A furious fourth-quarter comeback and a difference of three inches was not enough to secure a second-straight weekend of postseason lacrosse as the No. 10/9 Cardinal fell in overtime to No. 4 Florida, 13-12, on Sunday afternoon. Stanford ends the season with the best record in the Danielle Spencer era at 15-6, tying the mark for the second-most wins in a single-season in program history with 15. 

The Cardinal jumped out of the gates to start the morning as Jordyn Case earned her 23rd goal of the season to put the Cardinal in front with just over two minutes gone in the frame. Though Stanford gave up the next two to the Gators, the Cardinal fired back to deadlock the game 2-2 through the first quarter with an Ava Arceri eight-meter goal with under 90 to go in the first quarter. 

Florida, though, came out firing in the second quarter, amassing a three goal lead with a trio of tallies inside the first seven minutes of the quarter. However, Stanford answered the call with Rylee Bouvier slotting home a feed from Martha Oakey for her 30th of the campaign before Case grabbed her second of the day on the free position attempt to cut the deficit to one. However, Florida grabbed the final goal of the half to take a two-goal lead into the break. 

Looking for a surge, the Cardinal found itself in the lead, scoring five of the next seven goals to take a lead into the fourth quarter. Maddigan Miller slotted her 14th of the season just 33 seconds into the half before Aliya Polisky nabbed her record-setting 63rd goal of the season to answer Florida’s first counter of the half. 

WIth the Gators responding to the Polisky strike, Stanford rattled off three-consecutive goals to take the lead as Miller, Polisky and Arceri each tallied to push the Cardinal into its first lead of the game. 

In the fourth, Florida stormed immediately off the draw, earning the next four goals to snatch its largest lead of the game. However, The Cardinal stormed back with the final three goals of the afternoon including Polisky’s 65th of the season that started the run to push level the scoreline, 12-12. Needing one final stop, Stanford hunkered down on defense, keeping the Gators off the board for the final 12 minutes to force overtime. 

In the overtime period, Stanford had its opportunity to end things quickly but could not find the finishing touch. On the other end, Lucy Pearson made a point blank save in the final seconds to force a second golden-goal scenario. However, the second overtime was unkind to the Cardinal as Florida won the eventual draw. Nearing the end of its possession, the Gators fired a shot that deflected just past the goal line and was confirmed to have crossed the line via video review to seal the 13-12 decision. 

Arceri and Polisky both finished the afternoon with hat tricks as Polisky sets a new, single-season goal record with her 65th of the season. Arceri finishes the campaign having tallied in every competition for the Cardinal. Defensively, Stanford finished the afternoon with seven caused turnovers while Pearson made six saves.