ALBANY, N.Y. – A feisty second half attack that saw four unanswered Cardinal goals paved the way Thursday afternoon as No. 13 Stanford topped the Catamounts 5-2 in the America East Tournament Quarterfinals. Leading the way was America East Offensive Player of the Year, Maddie Secco with two goals and an assist to push Stanford to 13-5 on the year and into Saturday’s semifinal.
The first half was a quiet one on both sides as only six shots were put up, with five from Stanford and one from Vermont. The Cardinal struck first off a penalty corner as Sarah Helgeson and Maddie Secco set up Caroline Beaudoin’s shot into the corner to make it 1-0 in the 30th minute. Vermont posted only one shot in the half, but made it count as they capitalized on a penalty corner as well with Lauren Tucker knotting it 1-1 to head into the half.
#AEChamps | Check out the top plays from @StanfordFH's win over Vermont in the #AEFH quarterfinals https://t.co/WSsV5HlcwI
— America East (@AmericaEast) November 6, 2015
Blazing out of the break, the Catamounts put the Cardinal on its heels as a turnover in Stanford’s zone gave Landon Warren the opportunity to make it 2-1 in the 47th minute. Vermont continued to press, but the Cardinal composed themselves to take control and never look back as Katie Keyser drove to the right end line before setting up Maddie Secco for her first goal of the game in the 51st minute to knot it 2-2.
From there on it was an offensive melee for Stanford, peppering the Vermont goalie with 15 of its 20 shots in the half, one which resulted in a game-winning rebound goal for Clemence Couteau in the 60th minute. The Cardinal kept its foot on the gas for the remaining 10 minutes as they added two more to their tally with Fran Tew scoring off a penalty stroke in the 62nd minute. Maddie Secco finished the Cardinal attack on the night with a nasty backhand in the 63rd minute to close out the 5-2 win.
The Cardinal will continue its quest for an America East Championship in the semifinals this weekend. Stanford will face the winner of tomorrow’s quarterfinal match up of Maine and Cal on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. PT in Albany, N.Y.
