April 25, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. - The 14th-ranked Stanford women's lacrosse team will conclude its regular season this week with two games that will have postseason seeding implications, as it takes on UC Davis and California.
Stanford (10-4, 5-1 MPSF) opens the weekend series on Thursday at UC Davis (5-9, 2-5 MPSF) at 7 p.m. (PT). The Cardinal completes its regular season on Saturday in the "Lacrosse the Bay" matchup at California (9-5, 6-1 MPSF) at 1 p.m.
Saturday's game will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks.
Stanford currently sits in third place in the MPSF behind California, trailing by just half a game. Two Stanford victories would secure the No. 2 seed for the Cardinal in the MPSF Tournament, which takes place May 2-4 at the University of Oregon.
Stanford is coming off a two-victory week, defeating Oregon, 15-8, and San Diego State, 23-16.
Rachel Ozer led the way offensively, notching 11 points on eight goals and three assists. She was named the MPSF Offensive Player of the Week for April 15-21 - her second conference honor on the season.
Ozer continues to lead Stanford in points (57), goals (39) and assists (18). She ranks 25th in the nation in points per game (4.07), 40th in goals per game (2.79) and is tied for 42nd in total points (57).
Ozer leads a talented Stanford offensive unit that is the eighth-best scoring offense in the NCAA at 14.64 points per game, and ranks 16th in total points with 289.
Julia Burns, Anna Kim and Hannah Farr have also been strong offensively and have each broken the 30-point plateau.
Freshman Lucy Dikeou had a great week across the board and was named the MPSF Rookie of the Week for April 15-21. Dikeou scored four goals, picked up seven ground balls, caused four turnovers and claimed two draw controls in two games.
Dikeou was efficient with three goals on four shots against San Diego State and one goal on two shots against Oregon. She is sixth on the team with 26 points on 20 goals and six assists on the season.
Stanford has been stingy on defense and utilizes a high-pressure system that causes difficulties for opposing teams through the midfield and in the Cardinal's defensive zone. Stanford ranks fifth in the nation in caused turnovers with 10.64 per game.
Junior defender Megan Lerner has been outstanding this season and ranks 34th in draw controls (3.57 per game) and 35th in caused turnovers (1.43 per game) in the NCAA.
Lerner claimed a Stanford-record nine draw controls against San Diego State to increase her team lead to 50 on the season. She needs three more draw controls to break the Stanford single-season record of 52 held by Catherine Swanson ('12) and Lyndsey Munoz has been solid in net and holds a .401 save percentage and 11.07 goals-against average. She made 12 saves in last week's two victories.
Stanford earned a comeback win in its last meeting against UC Davis, going on a late 6-0 scoring run to knock off the Aggies, 19-18, on April 18, 2012.
UC Davis went 1-1 in last week's games, defeating San Diego State, 19-12, and falling to Oregon, 15-8.
The Aggies are led offensively by Elizabeth Datino who has recorded 60 points on 41 goals and 19 assists, followed by Hannah Mirza with 40 points (35-5) and Elizabeth Landry with 25 points (22-3).
Sara Quero leads UC Davis with 29 ground balls, while Carly Voris has caused a team-high 12 turnovers. Mary Doyle and Mirza are tied for the team lead with 46 draw controls.
Kai Murphy has played a majority of minutes in net and holds a .393 save percentage and 11.78 goals-against average.
Stanford won its most recent meeting against Cal, 9-8, in a thrilling match that featured a game-winning goal by then-senior Emilie Boeri with just 24 seconds to play on April 20, 2012, in Berkeley.
Cal lost its only match last week to Denver, 13-10. Megan Takacs leads the Golden Bears offensively with 50 points on 45 goals and five assists, followed by Melissa Humphrey with 45 points (19-26) and Paige Gasparino with 29 points (23-6).
Takacs has claimed a team-high 60 draw controls, while Grace Parente leads Cal with 31 ground balls. Gaby Christman has caused a team-best 23 turnovers.
Megan McGinnis has notched the majority of minutes in goal for the Golden Bears and boasts a .496 save percentage and 9.41 goals-against average.
Live stats will be available for both matches and Saturday's match against Cal will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks.