It wasn’t convincing, but the Stanford women’s lacrosse team managed to complete a thrilling come-from-behind victory, beating James Madison 14-13 at Cagan Stadium in a matchup of top-10 foes.

 

The No. 6 Cardinal (1-3) won its first game of the season behind five goals and three assists from senior Emilie Boeri, who was later named WomensLax.com player of the week. However, not even a stunning performance by Boeri could hold off No. 9 James Madison (1-1) for most of the day, as the Dukes led for the vast majority of the affair.

 

Stanford entered halftime trailing by five goals after JMU’s Ariel Lane tallied three first-half scores. The Cardinal came roaring back after the break, however, as Boeri scored four of her five goals in a span of about 14 minutes.

 

It was a dominant second-half showing by the Cardinal, although the squad surrendered the lead with just 2:50 left in the match. Down one at 12-13, Stanford was rescued by a game-tying goal by Boeri at 0:32. The senior’s free position shot set up a game-winner by sophomore Anna Kim with just nine seconds remaining.

 

The win finally reversed the losing trend that plagued the Cardinal’s early-season play. The young Stanford team faltered in its first three matches against ranked competition, but with a notch in the victory column the Cardinal will now look to capitalize on its positive momentum heading into this weekend’s festivities.

 

The Cardinal hosts No. 17 Vanderbilt at Cagan Stadium this Saturday at 1 p.m.