Peep WilliamsPeep Williams
Nell Redmond / ACC
Women's Lacrosse

Comeback Cardinal is ACC Championship Bound

Williams sends Cardinal to first ACC title game with final-minute winner

Box Score

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Peep Williams’ highlight-reel tally in the final minute and a Lucy Pearson save in the final seconds pushed the No. 11/9 Stanford women’s lacrosse team to its first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship game as the Cardinal dispelled No. 10 Clemson in the ACC Semifinals, 13-12, on Friday night. With the win, Stanford earns its first-ever berth in the ACC Championship game and first appearance in a conference title game since the Cardinal won the final Pac-12 Tournament in 2024.

Down 12-10 with just over four minutes remaining, Stanford (15-3, 8-2 ACC) was in a familiar position, relying on its stout defense to turn the tide. With Clemson (14-5, 7-3 ACC) having snagged its first lead since late in the first quarter with a 4-0 scoring run into the fourth, Stanford’s defense came through, forcing the 13th turnover of the night for the Tigers with a shot clock violation to give the Cardinal back the ball with 3:51 remaining. It was the final time the Tigers would be in the Stanford end until the waning stages of regulation. 

Stanford had already come back from a two-goal deficit earlier in the game and looked poised to do so in the fourth quarter. Aliya Polisky and Rylee Bouvier both collected their first goals of the afternoon to tie Friday’s affair with 1:44 left in the first quarter after Clemson had taken an early 2-0. The Tigers eventaully retook the lead with 20 seconds left in the opening frame to lead, 3-2, at the quarter break. 

This time, with Stanford’s offense needing two quick goals, Martha Oakey tabbed her second goal of the night in typical fashion, taking a feed from Peep Williams and slashing her way around the crease before funneling a shot five-hole on the Clemson goalkeeper to bring the Cardinal within one with 2:52 remaining in regulation. Oakey’s previous tally of the night had come back in the second quarter to level the game at 3-3 with a free-position goal that sparked a 3-0 run for the Cardinal. 

Following the Oakey tally back in the second quarter, Stanford went back-to-back across a dogged five-minute span with Ava Arceri collecting a brace off two assists from Mallory Hasselbeck. Though Clemson cut into the Stanford lead with just under three to go in the opening half, Peep Williams extended the lead back to two with a free-position tally in the closing seconds of the half to send Stanford ahead at the break, 6-4. 

In what was a game of scoring runs in the first half, Stanford went shot-for-shot with the Tigers early in the third quarter as Arceri collected the hat trick following a Clemson tally to open the half while Williams deposited her second of the day to push the Cardinal ahead, 8-5. Though Polisky and Jordyn Case tallied late in the quarter - the former on an unassisted tally and the latter on the eight-meter hash - Clemson grabbed four of the final six goals of the frame to cut the Cardinal lead to one entering the fourth. 

With the aforementioned 4-0 Clemson scoring run leading into the waning moments of the fourth quarter, the stage was set for the Stanford comeback attempt.

With 2:52 left in regulation and the Cardinal down by one following the Oakey tally, Stanford showed its poise as the former-No. 2 team in the country with its grit. Lexi Rodell nabbed the ensuing draw control - her career-high sixth of the night - having boxed out a Tiger defender with a one-handed draw control just before it hit the sideline to give the Cardinal all the momentum. Just under a minute later, Stanford’s offense knifed the Tiger defense as Oakey found a streaking Annabel Frist who outwaited the goalkeeper and slotted a shot into the netting to bring the Cardinal level with 1:56 to go. 

Once again, Stanford pounced off the draw as Jordyn Case got the ensuing draw control with Rodell and Frist having kept the ball in play to give Stanford a chance for the final chance of the night. With Stanford’s offense once again finding the seams through the Tigers defense, Peep Williams delivered the hat trick dagger, going behind-the-back with 33.5 seconds remaining to push the Cardinal ahead, 13-12. 

However, Clemson had the final chance of the evening, grabbing the ensuing draw control and setting its offense up following a timeout with 30 seconds to go. Though Clemson had its final shot of the night in a prime scoring area, Lucy Pearson’s sixth - and final - save of the night sealed the deal as the Cardinal solidified its spot in the ACC title game with the 13-12 win. 

No. 11/9 Stanford looks for its first-ever ACC Championship as the Cardinal takes on No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday, April 26. Opening draw from American Legion Memorial Stadium is slated for noon ET / 9 a.m. PT.