CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Having earned its first victory over Boston College in nearly two decades with a 14-7 thrashing on Wednesday night, No. 11/9 Stanford lacrosse is back in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Semifinals for the second-consecutive year as the Cardinal take on the No. 3-seeded Clemson Tigers on Friday, April 24. Opening draw from American Legion Memorial Stadium is slated for 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
Opening Draw
Stanford heads into Friday’s semifinal having dispatched the No. 7-seeded Boston College Eagles on Wednesday in the third quarterfinal matchup of the day. Stanford, which drew first blood in the contest, earned its revenge over the Eagles with an early 5-0 run stretching into the second quarter to give the Cardinal a 6-1 advantage. Though BC cut the deficit to two goals early in the third quarter, Stanford put to bed the thought of an Eagles comeback with its own 3-0 scoring run to eventually grab the 14-7 win.
Against the Eagles, Stanford notched its 12th game this season with eight or more different goalscorers - achieving an 11-1 record in those contests - led by Aliya Polisky’s hat trick. Polisky led all scorers with four points on the day including tallying her seventh hat trick of the season. Defensively, Stanford held BC to its second-lowest goal total this season while Rylee Bouvier notched a team-high three caused turnovers. In their returns to action, Mallory Hasselbeck nabbed two goals against her former school while Lucy Pearson made a season-high 11 saves to give her a perfect 10-0 record this season.
Aliya Polisky leads the Cardinal in scoring heading into Friday's semifinal matchup, tallying 66 points on the campaign as she leads the team in goals (42) while claiming a career-high 24 assists. Ava Arceri slots second in points with 51 on the season with her 40 goals slotting just behind Polisky. Martha Oakey and Mallory Hasselbeck both join the 40+ point club as both Cardinal have also tallied 20+ helpers this season. Five players have recorded 20+ goals this season with Annabel Frist grabbing a brace for the ninth time this season - and fourth time in the last five games - with two goals against BC. In total, 10 players have recorded double-digit goals this season.
Stanford ranks fourth in the conference in assists per game, averaging 7.94 through 17 games as Oakey leads the Cardinal with 28 on the season. Oakey tied her career single-season high of 28 assists with two in the game against BC while setting a new season-high in points with 51 having recorded an assist in nine-straight contests. Polisky and Hasselbeck slot behind Oakey with 24 and 21 helpers apiece while six Cardinal have recorded double-digit assists entering Friday.
On the draw, Annabel Frist leads the Cardinal with 66 draw controls after grabbing 11 across the two-game slate in North Carolina where she broke Stanford’s all-time draw control record of 372 that was set by Genesis Lucero (2016-21). Frist has tallied 384 draw controls during her career at Stanford which ranks eighth among active DI women’s lacrosse players and 23rd across all divisions. Jordyn Case slots second with 63 draw controls on the season having picked up a career-high eight in the win over Virginia earlier this season. Rylee Bouvier and Amanda Lawson follow behind with 27 and 25 draw controls, respectively.
Stanford continues to rank near the top of the nation defensively with Rylee Bouvier and Kate Bellissimo leading the charge for the Cardinal. Bouvier leads the team with 33 caused turnovers after accumulating three against the Tar Heels while Bellissimo sits close behind with 30 as both players rank top-10 all-time in single season caused turnovers. Bellissimo also leads the Cardinal in ground balls this season with 44 while junior Kaleigh Sommers has posted career numbers in her first season on defense with 34 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers after a career-outing against Cal.
In cage, Lucy Pearson made her return in the matchup against BC, stopping a season-high 11 shots as the senior notched her 10th win of the season to remain perfect in 2026. Pearson holds a 7.00 goals-against average coupled with a .455 save percentage this season. Pearson has appeared in 51 games during her Stanford career which is fifth-most all-time while recording the second-best goals-against average in program history at 8.91. Ella Morton has seen seven starts in goal for the Cardinal, posting a 4-3 record. Morton holds a 9.58 goals-against average coupled with a .438 save percentage while earning a career-high 53 saves in 10 appearances.