STANFORD, Calif. — Having suffered just its third loss this season, No. 12/7 Stanford lacrosse is back in action to conclude a two-game road trip, finishing the weekend with a matchup against Elon on Sunday, April 12. Opening draw from Rudd Field in Elon, N.C. is slated for noon ET / 9 a.m. PT.
Opening Draw
Stanford heads into the weekend finale having battled hard in a matchup against No. 2 North Carolina on Friday night, falling 18-9. Stanford jumped out of the gates on the defending national champions, earning a 2-1 lead through 15 minutes with goals from Aliya Polisky and Martha Oakey to put the Tar Heels in uncharted territory. However, UNC’s eight-meter offense took hold in the second quarter as the Tar Heels went 4-for-4 while earning a 7-5 lead through the first half. Stanford, though, continued battling in the second half, closing the gap to two following a Polisky eight-meter conversion but it was the hosts that found the final scoring touch on the day, earning an 9-2 run in the final 19 minutes of action to earn the win.
Against the Tar Heels, Stanford had six different goal-scorers on the day while Polisky joined Annabel Frist and Lexi Rodell with two goals apiece. Stanford’s offense went 1-for-4 on free position attempts with Polisky’s third-quarter dart proving to be the lone score. Defensively, Annabel Frist became Stanford’s all-time leader in draw controls having earned her 376th during the game while Rylee Bouvier slotted into a tie for sixth all-time in caused turnovers with 68 after earning three on Friday.
Aliya Polisky, Ava Arceri, and Mallory Hasselbeck lead the Cardinal this season in points with all three players amassing 40+ points. Polisky leads the Cardinal in goals (33) and points (54) after posting four points for the second-consecutive game in the matchup against UNC. The redshirt junior has also posted a career-high 21 assists this season. Arceri sits behind Polisky in goals (31) while sitting tied with Hasselbeck in points (41). Hasselbeck sits at a 20-21-41 line despite having missed the last two games as the fifth-year has enjoyed a career year with the Cardinal. In total, nine players have recorded double-digit goals this season.
Stanford ranks fifth in the conference in assists per game, averaging 7.69 through 14 games this season with Hasselbeck and Polisky slotting tied with sophomore Martha Oakey for the team lead at 21 helpers this season. Oakey has recorded an assist in six-consecutive games while posting a career-high five helpers in the win over Louisville.
On the draw circle, Annabel Frist leads the Cardinal with 58 draw controls after earning six in the game against UNC on Friday. With her third draw control against the Tar Heels, Frist became Stanford’s all-time leader in career draw controls, breaking Genesis Lucero’s record (372) as she currently owns 376 draw controls in her career. Jordyn Case slots behind Frist with 50 draw controls during the campaign after picking up a career-high 8 in the win over Virginia this season. Amanda Lawson and Rylee Bouvier sit third and fourth, respectively, with 21 and 19 draw controls in 14 games.
Stanford continues to rank near the top of the nation with Rylee Bouvier and Kate Bellissimo leading the charge for the Cardinal. Bouvier leads the team with 28 caused turnovers after accumulating three against the Tar Heels while Bellissimo sits close behind with 27 as both players rank top-10 all-time in single season caused turnovers. Bellissimo also leads the Cardinal in ground balls this season with 36 while junior Kaleigh Sommers has posted career numbers in her first season on defense with 28 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers.
In cage, Ella Morton has seen the last five starts in goal for the Cardinal, posting a 2-3 record in that time. Morton holds a 10.98 goals-against average coupled with a .388 save percentage while earning a career-high 38 saves in eight appearances. Lucy Pearson started the first nine games of the season, boasting a 9-0 record with her last appearance coming in the win over Notre Dame. Pearson holds a 7.00 goals-against average coupled with a .427 save percentage on 155 shots faced this season. Pearson has appeared in 50 games during her Stanford career which is fifth-most all-time while recording the second-best goals-against average in program history at 8.95.