Lacrosse maintains undefeated record in MPSF with win over UC Davis

April 18, 2016, 11:37 p.m.

After Sunday’s 13-6 victory over UC Davis, the No.9 Stanford lacrosse team (12-2, 7-0 MPSF) remains undefeated in the MPSF conference. The eight seniors on the team were honored for their contributions at the game during senior day.

Junior attacker Kelsey Murray (21)
Junior attacker Kelsey Murray (right) continued her strong offensive play, scoring four goals against UC Davis to mark 12 goals on the week. For her accomplishments she was named MPSF Player of the Week. (SAM GIRVIN/The Stanford Daily)

Less than a minute into the start of the game, the Cardinal’s star attacker, junior Kelsey Murray, scored off of a free position shot to get the team on the board. Not long after, sophomore draw control specialist Kelly Myers ran the ball down the field after winning the draw, and fired in a shot to move Stanford to a 2-0 lead early in the game.

The game picked up pace when the Aggies (5-6, 3-3 MPSF) proved their defensive aggression, causing a few Stanford turnovers. UC Davis capitalized on these opportunities, scoring 3 unanswered goals to put them back in the game. The Cardinal maintained their quick offensive style and high shot rate, and managed to once again gain control of the momentum. Junior midfielder Alex Poplawski fired it in on a free position shot to even the score 3-3 with a few minutes left in the half.

The Cardinal came back to score 3 more goals to move into the half with a tight 6-4 lead. Both teams headed into the break with tired legs after a back and forth aggressive fight that was marked by a few full-field transition plays.

The second half opened with total Cardinal control. Stanford’s offense fired in 3 goals to extend the scoring gap. The Aggies could only answer with 2 goals, after they were closed out by the Cardinal’s tight defense. Stanford ended the game in a 13-6 victory, especially sweet for the graduating seniors.

Kelsey Murray finished with an impressive 4 goals and 1 assist. This past week of play she proved herself as a major offensive threat, recording 12 goals with a 0.941 shots on goal percentage. For her offensive prowess she was named MPSF Player of the Week.

“Every time we play UCD they are scrappy and good competitors so it is important to bring your ‘A-game’,” Murray said. “It was a great day to celebrate our seniors and get the win”.

Stanford now shifts its focus to their most competitive game of the season against No. 5 USC on Friday. USC and Stanford are the lacrosse powerhouses of the west coast. Both teams enter Friday’s game undefeated in their MPSF conference. However, unlike Stanford, USC holds a perfect 15-0 overall record.

“We are starting to prepare for the game now,” Murray said. “We are going to watch a lot of film. We want to see how other teams have played against USC and what worked for them and what didn’t. That way we can create a plan that will work for us.”

The game will begin Friday at 4:30 p.m. at USC in the LA Memorial Coliseum. The game will be streamed on the Pac-12 network.

Contact Sydney Shaw at sshaw17 ‘at’ stanford.edu. 

Login or create an account

Apply to The Daily’s High School Summer Program

Priority deadline is april 14

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds