Last Tuesday, the No.9 Stanford lacrosse team (5-1) took on No. 15 Penn State (6-3) in the first ever matchup between the teams. The Cardinal suffered their first loss of the season by a score of 17-15.

Entering the game, Stanford was the national scoring leader and had moved up 11 spots in the IWLCA since opening the season at No. 20, but the team was a little rusty since it hadn’t played in 16 days after going on an extended break for dead week and finals week.

Stanford started strong and built a five-goal second-half lead, but the Cardinal were unable to hold this lead until the end. Stanford scored the first three goals and led the entire game — until 2:21 was left on the clock and Penn State sophomore midfielder Steph Lazo scored a free-position goal for a 16-15 lead. Junior midfielder Madison Cyr iced the game with one more goal with 58 seconds left.

Prior to that, Stanford led 11-6 in the second half and moved up to a 14-11 lead with 7:29 left to play. Senior attacker Kyle Fraser scored four goals, while senior midfielder Hannah Farr, junior midfielder Lucy Dikeou, fifth-year senior attacker Rachel Ozer and freshman midfielder Kelly Myers all had two goals each. However, Stanford lost momentum after Penn State won five of seven draws down the stretch, with every one of those controls leading to a goal.

On the following Friday, Stanford took on Harvard (3-3) to wrap up its spring break East Coast trip. The Cardinal were able to split the week with a 15-10 victory against the Crimson. Entering the game, Stanford led the all-time series against Harvard, 4-3.

Rachel Ozer led the Cardinal offense with three goals. With her three goals, Ozer is now tied for No. 6 on Stanford’s all-time points list (165) and is up to No. 8 in all-time goals (113). She opened the scoring for the Cardinal, who scored seven consecutive goals to take a convincing lead.

Harvard didn’t go quietly, however, and they went on a 6-1 run to take the lead in the beginning of the second half. Junior attacker Alex Crerend was put in after that to take the draws. She won seven consecutive draw controls to help Stanford retake the lead. The Cardinal also tightened up defensively during the second half, holding Harvard scoreless for the last 18:26 minutes of play. Freshman goalie Allie DaCar made six huge saves, helping Stanford to close the game.

The Cardinal held possession for the majority of the time, allowing them to hold the victory until the end. Lucy Dikeou, Hannah Farr and junior midfielder Mackenzie Tesei each earned two goals apiece as the Cardinal finished a convincing rebound from their 17-15 loss to Penn State.

Stanford returns to action this coming Tuesday with a game against Cornell at 7 p.m. on The Farm.

Contact Kristina Bassi at kbassi ‘at’ stanford.edu.