May 2, 2013
Schedule
Thursday, May 2
Semifinal I: No. 1 Denver vs. No. 4 USC, 4:30 p.m. (PT)
Semifinal II: No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 3 Cal, 7 p.m. (PT)
Saturday, May 4
Championship: Winner of Semifinal I vs. Winner of Semifinal II, 1 p.m. (PT)
STANFORD, Calif. – The second-seeded Stanford women’s lacrosse team will pursue its eighth Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship as it takes on third-seeded California in the semifinals Thursday at 7 p.m. (PT) in Eugene, Ore.
Stanford (11-5, 6-2 MPSF) and Cal (9-6, 6-2 MPSF) will face off in their second consecutive match, as the two teams met in the regular-season finale this past weekend, with the Cardinal pulling out a 14-13 comeback victory.
Rachel Ozer scored the game-winning goal with eight seconds remaining in regulation and goalkeeper Lyndsey Munoz saved a free-position shot with no time on the clock to secure the Stanford victory. Stanford improved to 26-7 all-time against Cal.
The winner will face either top-seeded Denver or fourth-seeded USC, which play at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Denver finished the regular season 16-1 overall and 8-0 in the MPSF, claiming its fifth regular season conference championship since 2006. The Pioneers have never won the MPSF Tournament.
USC finished its inaugural season 8-9 overall and 5-3 in the MPSF. The Trojans qualified for the tournament in its final game of the regular season, defeating San Diego State, 12-11.
Stanford is led offensively by Ozer, who scored in 15 of 16 matches and led Stanford in points (62), goals (43) and assists (19). Ozer thrived in conference play and recorded a team-best 29 points (21-8) in eight MPSF games. She garnered her first first-team All-MPSF honor for her efforts.
Julia Burns and Kyle Fraser have also been strong offensive contributors, notching 35 and 32 points on the season, respectively.
Stanford has been especially strong in the midfield, with All-MPSF selections Anna Kim, Hannah Farr and Lucy Dikeou leading the charge.
Kim finished the regular season second in points (37), and third in goals (27) and assists (10). She claimed the second-most draw controls on the season with 49, tied for the fifth-most in Stanford single-season history.
Farr recorded 36 points on 24 goals and 12 assists, claimed 28 draw controls, picked up 12 ground balls and caused 10 turnovers on the season. She averaged 3.0 points per game in eight conference games.
Dikeou made an immediate impact in her freshman campaign, starting 15 of 16 games and recorded 29 points on 21 goals and eight assists. She was second on the team with 19 caused turnovers, third with 27 ground balls and fourth with 25 draw controls on the season.
Dikeou thrived in conference play and led Stanford with 15 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers in eight MPSF matches.
The Cardinal has been stingy defensively, limiting opponents to just 23.1 shots per game and causing 10.1 turnovers per game. Megan Lerner has been a major contributor to the defensive effort and broke the Stanford single-season draw control record, claiming 55 on the season – passing the previous mark of 52 set by Catherine Swanson ('12) and Leslie Foard ('11).
Lerner earned her first All-MPSF honor as she was named to the first team.
Nina Swanson has also been a staple for the Cardinal defensively and caused 17 turnovers, picked up 17 ground balls and 11 draw controls on the season. Swanson is considered one of Stanford's best shut-down defenders and is often tasked with covering opposing teams' top offensive player. She garnered her second consecutive second team All-MPSF award.
Stanford Against MPSF Tournament Teams: Below is a brief summary of Stanford’s history against the other teams competing at the MPSF Tournament.
California
Stanford won its last meeting against Cal, 14-13, this past weekend in Berkeley, Calif. Stanford went on a 3-0 scoring run in the final seven minutes – capped by a goal by Ozer with eight seconds remaining in regulation – along with a free-position save by Munoz with no time on the clock, to secure the comeback victory. Stanford won its most recent meeting against Cal in the MPSF Tournament, 20-11, in a semifinal match on April 29, 2011. Stanford is 26-7 all-time against Cal.
Denver
The Cardinal dropped its previous meeting against Denver, 14-10, on April 5 in Colorado. Stanford was unable to overcome a 6-0 Denver first-half scoring run and an 18:30 scoreless drought as it dropped its first MPSF match of the season. Stanford was led offensively by Meredith Kalinowski and Burns who tallied three points apiece. The Cardinal won its most recent MPSF Tournament match against Denver, 14-7, on April 27, 2012. Stanford is 16-6 all-time against Denver.
USC
Stanford claimed a 17-12 victory over USC in the inaugural meeting on March 8, 2013. Kim had a terrific game, leading Stanford with five points on four goals and an assist. Kim also led the Cardinal with five draw controls. Burns had a breakout game, scoring four goals in the first half. Munoz made seven saves and helped fend off a late USC comeback effort and secure the win.