STANFORD, Calif. — Eleven caused turnovers and five saves from Lucy Pearson solidified a home-opening win for No. 2/3 Stanford as the Cardinal dispelled No. 13 Syracuse, 8-6, on a chilly night Friday.
With under three minutes to play in a two-score game, the Cardinal needed a stop, relying on its stout defense to close out a threatening Orange side. With Alexa Vogelman slotting toward the cage, Lucy Pearson stepped in front for her fifth save of the night, holding Syracuse at bay on its 17th and final shot as the Cardinal secured its second Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) win of the season.
Stanford (4-0, 2-0 ACC) never trailed in Friday’s contest, opening the scoring with a Jordyn Case tally just 80 seconds into the game as the Cardinal jumped to the 1-0 lead with Case’s fifth of the season. Following an immediate reply from the Orange (0-3, 0-2 ACC), Stanford’s Ava Arceri snagged her first of the game from the eight-meter hash to regain the lead.
In what was a back-and-forth first quarter, headlined by Stanford’s nine shots - including four on target - the Cardinal earned a 4-2 lead through the first 15 minutes off of its signature shooting, as Lindsey Devir and Aliya Polisky got in on the scoresheet, putting Stanford ahead by two with goals inside three minutes midway through the frame.
However, Syracuse attempted to flip the script in the second, jumping out with two quick goals inside the frame’s first five minutes to level the scoreline, 4-4. The Cardinal, though, never wavered in its poise defensively, holding its own in the defensive third with three Pearson stops, while its free-position defense went 3-for-3 in the frame.
Having gone into the halftime break deadlocked 4-4, Stanford came out blazing in the third, scoring inside the first minute as Arceri nabbed her second of the game off of her trademark finish. Stanford then doubled its advantage in a tightly-contested third quarter with Amanda Lawson finding twine, switching the angle from low-to-high off a free-position attempt that found the corner to give Stanford a 6-4 advantage.
Having held the Orange scoreless in the third, Stanford’s defense budged ever so slightly in the fourth as the Orange leveled the scoreline at 6-6 following a pair of goals from Caroline Trinkaus. However, The Cardinal defense was not to be beaten for the remainder of the contest, forcing the Orange into four turnovers in the fourth quarter while Olivia Rose’s team-leading three caused turnovers kept the Orange from finding the back of the cage.
Offensively, the Cardinal found its final two chances of the game just past the midway mark of the frame. Devir, who found a feed inside the slot from Polisky, dotted home her second of the day while Mallory Hasselbeck snagged her third assist of the evening, rifling a pass that found Polisky who finished off the feed to put Stanford in front by two.
With five minutes to go, Stanford held strong on both ends, holding Syracuse in its defensive end for nearly two full possessions while Stanford’s defensive corps - which forced two shot clock violations from the Orange during the contest - held Syracuse at bay including while it was a woman down in the final minute to earn the 8-6 win.
Stanford is back in action on Sunday, February 22, hosting NR/RV USC for its One Love Game. Opening draw from Cagan Stadium is slated for 1 p.m. PT.