Stanford Goal CelebrationStanford Goal Celebration
Ella Ratdke (UC Davis Athletics)
Women's Lacrosse

Downed The Commodores

Stanford trio headlines homecoming rout over Vanderbilt

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It was a dominant outing for the No. 2/3 Stanford women’s lacrosse team as three Cardinal made their return to their home state, accounting for 10 of Stanford's 18 goals in an 18-6 win over Vanderbilt on Monday afternoon. With the win, Stanford begins the season 3-0 and caps off a perfect start to the season on the road. 

Stanford started as the aggressor in Monday’s contest with Jordyn Case and Martha Oakey snatching a quick 2-0 lead for the Cardinal inside the first 2:30 of regulation. Case opened the scoring with a dodge inside before slotting home her fourth of the season while Oakey knotted her fifth of the campaign on from the eight-meter hash. 

The Cardinal continued the offensive explosion with the Tennessee natives finding the back of the net, starting with a brace from Aliya Polisky to end the quarter. Polisky earned her first of the afternoon from the eight-meter before ending the first quarter scoring on a strong individual effort to give Stanford a 4-0 lead through the first 15 minutes. 

Mallory Hasselbeck joined the homecoming parade of scoring early in the second on the transition as the Cardinal turned defense into offense. Following an interception in the defensive third from Kaleigh Sommers, Hasselbeck turned on the jets in the midfield and went down the slot before wiring a low shot past the Vanderbilt goalkeeper to put Stanford ahead, 5-0.

Following a Vanderbilt tally to break the shutout, Polisky tallied her hat trick on a woman-up chance with 11:31 to go in the half before finding her fourth of the afternoon later in the second quarter, finishing a feed from Annabel Frist with under a minute to go after Stanford had taken a 7-3 lead halfway through the quarter. 

Stanford ended the half with three unanswered goals as Polisky’s fourth of the game was bookended by an Ava Arveri tally with 7:31 to go and a buzzer beating transition tally from Oakey who put Stanford ahead 9-2 with her second of the day just before the horn sounded for the halftime break.

Though Vanderbilt opened the third quarter scoring with a Gabby Putman tally, Hasselbeck and Polisky traded goals for the Cardinal to open up a 10-goal advantage in the third. Hasselbeck notched her second of the day having beaten a defender inside on a nifty individual effort while Polisky followed suit with an equally as impressive individual effort, wiring home a shot on the run. The duo continued the scoring with Hasselbeck earning the hat trick tally from a laser along the eight-meter hash while Polisky tallied career goal 128 with her signature left-handed shot to put Stanford ahead, 13-3. Polisky later tallied in the fourth quarter for her seventh of the day, tying her single-game record for goals and earning career goal No. 129 which slots tied for eighth all-time in program history.

The Cardinal continued to roll in the fourth with Ava Arceri notching her first hat trick of the season, earning two goals in the fourth to finish the day with four points. Lexi Rodell capped off the scoring for the Cardinal, wiring home two shots off of sinister feeds from Peep Williams. Williams notched her first assist off a brilliant behind-the-back feed that found Rodell in front of cage while her second found the sophomore via a lofted pass over the netting that gave Stanford its eventual 18-6 win. 

Defensively, the Cardinal showed out on the afternoon causing 12 of Vanderbilt’s 19 turnovers on the day. Rylee Bouvier led the Cardinal with four caused turnovers while seven players recorded a caused turnover in the contest. On the draw, Bouvier and Case led the Cardinal with three a piece while Annabel Frist aided Stanford along the circle, helping the Cardinal to seven team draw controls while adding a ground ball and an assist in her return to The Volunteer State. 

The Cardinal is back in action on a quick turnaround, beginning the home slate on Friday, February 20 when it hosts No. 13 Syracuse for another Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) bout. Opening draw from Cagan Stadium is slated for 5:30 p.m. PT.