Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
STANFORD, Calif. – An offensive assault of 25 shots by the Stanford Field Hockey Team led the way to a 2-1 Cardinal win over Pacific in the final America East regular season game Friday night at Varsity Turf. With the win, the Cardinal claim a co-championship with Pacific in the West Division headed into next week's tournament, where Stanford will be the No. 1 seed for the West Division. The Cardinal finish the regular season with a 12-5 record and 4-2 in conference play while Pacific finishes at 10-7 overall and 4-2 in the America East.
On the win, Head Coach Tara Danielson commented, “I was happy with the way our team played today, I thought we really went after it. It was a full team effort, and we needed that heading into the America East Tournament next week. My hat is off to the Pacific goalkeeper, she had an amazing performance, but we're happy to get the win and looking forward to the tournament next week.”
The Cardinal struck first in the 11th minute of action as a penalty corner by Sarah Helgeson was sent to Maddie Secco, who placed a perfect assist to help Jessica Chisholm crush her shot into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0 Stanford. The Tigers didn't remain quiet though, as they capitalized on a penalty stroke that Savannah Burns put past Dulcie Davies in the top left corner for her eight goal of the year.
While Stanford topped Pacific 13-2 in shots in the half, UOP's Laura Pujade made the difference for the Tigers with seven saves to keep them in the hunt as they headed into the half tied 1-1.
Coming out of the break, the Cardinal took charge in the second as they peppered the Lions with 12 more shots. The heavy offensive attack paid off for Stanford in the 41st minute though as Jessica Chisholm and Fran Tew both posted shots saved by UOP's Pujade before Clemence Couteau collected another rebound that she buried into the corner for the game winning goal.
Prior to the start of the game, the Cardinal seniors were honored for their careers at Stanford and for their impact and dedication to the program. On her senior class, Coach Danielson stated, “They're a very dedicated group that have been really enjoyable to see grow with this program and also to be around. I love the resiliency and grittiness that they bring and how engaged they are in what's best for the team. They truly embody what a Stanford athlete is about.”
The Cardinal will enter next week's America East Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the West Division where they will face the No. 4 seed from the East Division on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 4:30 p.m. at the University of Albany in Albany, N.Y.