IRVINE, Calif. – No. 4 Stanford took third at the UC Irvine Invitational on Sunday, dropping a close 7-6 decision to No. 1 USC in a morning semifinal before bouncing back to ease by No. 6 Hawaii in the afternoon, 13-7.
Gurpreet Sohi and Kat Klass each had four goals in the two games and Julia Hermann made 14 saves in the cage as the Cardinal moved to 12-2 on the year. Stanford, which has completed its nonconference tournaments, plays at San Jose State next Saturday before taking a two-week break to focus on final exams.
No. 1 USC 7 – No. 4 Stanford 6
Stanford led 5-2 heading into the final period, but USC scored five times in the fourth quarter and put home the game winner with five seconds remaining to escape with a 7-6 victory.
Gurpreet Sohi started the scoring at 6:22 in the first for the Cardinal before the Trojans answered with strikes at 4:17 and 3:30 to take a 2-1 lead after one. Stanford rebounded and tallied three unanswered in the second from Sohi (7:38), Kat Klass (4:57) and Jamie Neushul (2:20) to go up two at the break, 4-2.
Stanford scored once more in the third when Sophia Monaghan converted her team’s 6-on-5 opportunity with just 44 seconds remaining in the frame.
USC, which had been held scoreless for nearly 20 minutes, erupted in the fourth quarter. Hayley McKelvey scored at 6:27 and Brianna Daboub at 5:57. Brigitta Games tied the score, 5-5, when she rattled the cage at 3:05 and Ioanna Haralabidis gave the Trojans their first lead since the first quarter with a goal at 1:14.
Anna Yelizarovca responded for Stanford to knot things up, 6-6, with 54 seconds to go, but Stephania Haralabidis sent USC to victory when she scored with just five seconds on the clock. It was the Trojans’ first win against Stanford since the 2013 NCAA Championship.
No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 1 USC
Feb. 28, 2016 • Irvine, Calif.
USC 2 – 0 – 0 – 5 = 7
STAN 1 – 3 – 1 – 1 = 6
USC Goals: I. Haralabidis 2, B. Daboub, B. Games, S. Haralabidis, H. McKelvey, A. Peterson
USC Saves: V. Chamorro 7
Stanford Goals: Gurpreet Sohi 2, Kat Klass, Sophia Monaghan, Jamie Neushul, Anna Yelizarova
Stanford Saves: Julia Hermann 8
No. 4 Stanford 13 – No. 6 Hawaii 7
Stanford responded in the third-place game, scoring six times in the first quarter to cruise by No. 6 Hawaii, 13-7.
Anna Yelizarova was successful in a 6-on-5 situation to start (7:31) and was followed by even-strength strikes from Dani Jackovich (5:58), Gurpreet Sohi (5:15) and Kat Klass (3:31). Hawaii scored once before the Cardinal closed the quarter with a goal from Jordan Raney (0:55) and a penalty conversion from Sohi (0:03).
Stanford scored three more times in the second and another three times in the third and led 12-4 with just eight minutes to go. Klass tallied the fifth hat trick of her young career when she added a penalty in the third and a goal early in the fourth. The sixth multi-goal effort of the season from Yelizarova and the seventh from Sohi kept Hawaii at bay and wrapped up a 3-1 weekend for Stanford. In fact, Sohi scored two goals in each of the tournament’s four games.
No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 6 Hawaii
Feb. 28, 2016 • Irvine, Calif.
HAW 1 – 1 – 2 – 3 = 7
STAN 6 – 3 – 3 – 1 = 13
Hawaii Saves: Logan 3
Stanford Goals: Kat Klass 3, Gurpreet Sohi 2, Anna Yelizarova 2, Madison Berggren, Katie Dudley, Dani Jackovich, Rachel Johnson, Jordan Raney, Cassidy Wiley
Stanford Saves: Julia Hermann 6
