Lucy PearsonLucy Pearson
Ella Ratdke (UC Davis Athletics)
Women's Lacrosse

Topped The Tigers

No. 4/5 Stanford closes out No. 9/8 Clemson for first ACC win of 2026

Box Score

CLEMSON, S.C. — Holding steady with a one-goal lead with under six minutes to go, Stanford’s Lucy Pearson and her defense had one goal in mind: Make a stop. With two Clemson opportunities abated, the Cardinal earned its first Atlantic Coast Conference victory of the season and continued its strong start to the season. 

It took every last bit of effort from the No. 4/5 Cardinal (2-0, 1-0 ACC) which entered the fourth quarter in comfortable territory, leading through three quarters. However, the game was anything but comfortable against the No. 9/8 Clemson Tigers (2-1, 0-1 ACC) as both sides proved why they are the top rising programs in the ACC. 

Clemson started the scoring in the first quarter as both teams traded body blows to begin the match. Brooke Goldstein’s sixth of the season was the first of 19 eventual tallies in the game as both sides looked for one weakness in the other's defense. For Stanford, Jordyn Case punched through to level the scoreline just under two minutes later with her third of the season to push the scoreline level. 

Though Rylee Bouvier’s tally late in the quarter brought the match to another tie, her fourth of the season was sandwiched between two Clemson tallies as the Tigers took a one-goal lead into the second. 

In the second, Stanford did well to withstand the attack from the Tigers, drawing the hosts level after falling down by two with tallies from Mallory Hasselbeck and Amanda Lawson. Though Clemson took a 5-4 lead with under four to go in the frame, Stanford held strong for the final chance of the half, finding the back of the cage off of a deflected shot from the stick of Lawson for her second of the game as the match went deadlocked into the half, 5-5. 

Having forced seven Clemson turnovers in the first half, Stanford’s defensive corps proved why it is one of the best in the nation, forcing the Tigers into five turnovers in the frame. Looking to turn defense into offense, Stanford stormed back in the third after the Tigers amassed a two-goal cushion to begin the half, rifling a string of five-straight goals that bled into the fourth quarter to earn its first lead. 

In transition, Hasselbeck snatched her second of the afternoon - and eighth of the season - cutting the Clemson lead to one. Just under two minutes later, Martha Oakey slotted her fourth of the campaign from the hash marks to draw Stanford level. Closing the third, Annabel Frist became the sixth different goal-scorer for the Cardinal, pushing Stanford ahead from the free position hash, giving Stanford its first lead of the game. 

Having capitalized on five Clemson turnovers in the third, The Cardinal continued its defensive onslaught in the fourth quarter as the Cardinal offense forced a defensive zone turnover from the Tigers. With Clemson ending away an errant pass after Stanford’s initial offensive zone chance came up empty, Aliya Polisky picked up the ground ball in front of the 12-meter zone and knifed her way on goal before wiring a shot past the goalkeeper to give Stanford a two-goal lead. 

Just under three minutes later, the Cardinal earned its largest lead of the game as Lindsey Devir secured her first goal of the season after a nifty passing play behind the cage found Devir alone in the slot which the junior put away with ease to make the scoreline, 10-7.

Clemson, though, came firing back following the Stanford tally, cutting into the lead after the Cardinal failed to deal with an initial chance with Natalie Shurtleff first of the afternoon. The Tigers eventually made it a one-goal affair with a tick under seven minutes to play with a Kayla MacLeod tally. 

However, Stanford’s defense stood strong. With under six minutes to go Pearson stepped up for her seventh save of the afternoon, denying MacLeod from range. The Cardinal defense continued to hold strong in the waning stages on both sides of the field. Stanford’s second chance offense drained more clock from Clemson while with over a minute to go, the Cardinal defense forced a Shurtleff shot wide that Olivia Rose picked up to give Stanford possession. 

Following the turn of possession, the Cardinal rode through the midfield with Case earning the successful clear before Stanford’s offense neutralized the Clemson pressure, earning a decisive 10-9 win. 

Stanford is back in action on Monday, February 16, taking on the Vanderbilt Commodores from the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex in Nashville, Tenn. The opening draw is slated for 11 a.m. CT / 9 a.m. PT.