STANFORD, Calif. — Coming off of a perfect 2-0 weekend, Stanford women’s lacrosse opens the 2026 home slate this weekend, hosting No. 13 Syracuse for the first of two contests this weekend on Friday, February 20. Opening draw from Cagan Stadium is slated for 5:30 p.m.
Opening Draw
No. 2/3 Stanford (3-0, 1-0 ACC) opens the home schedule having opened the season on a three-game road stand, dispatching UC Davis two weeks ago before heading to the East Coast for the first time this season, handling No. 9/8 Clemson last Saturday before downing Vanderbilt earlier this week.
Against Clemson, Stanford showed poise and prowess on both sides of the field, limiting a high-scoring Tiger offense to a season-low nine goals while Stanford’s offense displayed its depth with eight different goal-scorers. Stanford, which had been down 4-2 in the second quarter, went on a 3-1 run to end the half, highlighted by Amanda Lawson’s tally in the final seconds that brought the game deadlocked 5-5 through 30 minutes. Stanford’s offense, though, showed its poise in the final half, stringing five-straight goals to take a 10-7 lead in the fourth quarter as five different Cardinal registered a goal in the stretch, building a lead that it saw through the final buzzer for a 10-9 win. Stanford’s defense also showed out, claiming nine caused turnovers while its free-position defense went 6-for-6 on the day.
Looking to claim a perfect 3-0 start, Stanford headed out to Nashville, Tenn., in what was a homecoming for a trio of Cardinal. In the backyard of Annabel Frist, Aliya Polisky and Mallory Hasselbeck, the Cardinal took care of business from the opening draw, claiming an 18-6 win over the Commodores. Polisky tied her single-game high with seven goals on the day which moved her up to a tie for eighth all-time with 129 career goals. Hasselbeck also cashed in three times on the afternoon as the Cardinal had six different goal-scorers while 26 of Stanford’s 29 shots hit the mark. Defensively, Stanford saw all three goalkeepers earn minutes while Rylee Bouvier led the way with four caused turnovers.
Stanford enters the week at No. 2 in the ILWCA DI Coaches Poll, which sets the highest ranking in any poll in program history while the Cardinal’s appearance at No. 3 in the ILWomen/Kane poll is the highest recorded rank in program history in that poll. Stanford’s previous program record ranking was at No. 4 which the Cardinal has earned three times in history. Stanford’s No. 2 ranking is the highest-ever recorded ranking by a team on the West Coast, surpassing USC’s No. 3 ranking it held for two weeks in 2017 (ILWomen Poll Weeks 1-2).
Aliya Polisky leads the Cardinal offensively through three games this season, leading the team in goals (11) and points (13) after tying her career, single-game high in goals with seven against Vanderbilt. Elsewhere offensively, Mallory Hasselbeck is second on the Cardinal in goal scoring, tallying seven times this season including a hat trick against Vanderbilt and two goals against Clemson. Stanford currently has 12 players that have recorded a goal this season entering Friday’s contest. Stanford’s offense currently ranks second in the conference in scoring and leads the nation in shot percentage.
Lending a helping hand, Stanford ranks fifth in the conference in assists as 10 Cardinal have recorded a helper in three games. Hasselbeck and Ava Arceri lead the team with three assists this season while six players have two assists on the campaign including Martha Oakey, Jordyn Case, Annabel Frist and Rylee Bouvier.
Annabel Frist leads the Cardinal along the draw circle this season with her team-leading 12 draw controls while Jordyn Case sits second with 10 on the campaign. Frist currently ranks second all-time in draw controls with 330 during her career and is 42 draw controls away from tying Genesis Lucero (2016-21) for the program record. Case, however, returns as one of four Cardinal who earned 50+ draw controls a season ago after a career-high 51 in the 2025 campaign.
Defensively, Rylee Bouvier leads the Cardinal with five caused turnovers while Kaleigh Sommers and Annabel Frist slot second with four this season. Kate Bellissimo and Olivia Rose lead Stanford in ground balls with both defenders recording five so far.
In cage, Lucy Pearson leads the Cardinal having earned all three starts to begin the 2026 season, earning a 6.26 goals-against average coupled with a .385 save percentage. Pearson currently ranks third all-time in goals-against average (9.20) and is seventh all-time in games played with 44 so far. Stanford has also received time from Ella Morton and Shae Lembo, the latter of which made her season-debut against Vanderbilt and recorded her first action since the 2024 season. Morton, however, has made two appearances this season and is no stranger to facing Syracuse as she earned nearly a quarter of action against the Orange in last season’s ACC Quarterfinal match, earning one save on a free-position shot that kept Stanford ahead 8-4 in a game it eventually won, 15-10.