In a tale of two matches, No. 12 Stanford women’s lacrosse fell short against a strong No. 10 Duke squad on Saturday 12-8 before rebounding in their return to action on Tuesday by blowing out a struggling Saint Mary’s squad by a final tally of 22-5.
Saturday’s first goal came from Blue Devil junior midfielder Maddie Crutchfield six minutes into the match, after which Stanford and Duke traded goals for remainder of the half. Ultimately, Duke entered halftime with a 4-3 lead after Stanford narrowed the margin behind senior attacker Kelly Myers.
The two teams continued to trade blows coming out of halftime and into the second half, yet the Cardinal never could find the boost to jump in front of Duke and take control of the match. Stanford ultimately tied the match at 8 apiece with 10 minutes remaining in the match but once again could not capitalize, and the Blue Devils marched to four unanswered goals to cement their victory.
Despite a second-half Stanford rally falling short, the Cardinal women finished on par with the Blue Devils in the most statistical categories, ranging from the same number of shots to owning a +6 turnover margin. However, Duke earned five free position shots, generating three goals off those five FPR. Meanwhile Stanford’s FPR stats flat-lined at zero, a huge reason as to why the Cardinal fell short on the night.
The competition was actually for the annual Patriot’s Cup and took place in the neutral Dallas, Texas on the Cowboy’s practice facility. Although the Cardinal are now 1-2 on the season, competition against ranked teams has proved that Stanford can compete on the highest national level.
The Cardinal then turned their attention back to MPSF action as they rebounded against northern California foe Saint Mary’s on the road in Moraga, California. The Gaels (0-2) suffered their second major blowout at the hands of an explosive Stanford offense in their home opener, losing by a final tally of 22-5.
In Tuesday’s match, Stanford offense showed their prolific potential against the Gaels, scoring 16 in the first half including five goals from senior Kelsey Murray and a hat trick from senior Elizabeth Cusick. The blowout provided lots of garbage time in which head coach Amy Bokker was able to incorporate a number of freshman who joined in on the offensive explosion. Freshman Jensen Neff, Daniella McMahon, and Mikaela Watson all scored their first collegiate goals in Tuesday’s match, indicating promising depth and youth within the Stanford offense.
Follow all the action, including Friday’s game preview, at the Daily or live on gostanford.com.
Contact Lorenzo Rosas at enzor9 ‘at’ stanford.edu.