STANFORD, Calif. - Maggie Hawkins' hat trick paced a consistent offensive attack as No. 4 Stanford nearly led wire-to-wire in a 10-8 victory over No. 3 USC on Saturday at Avery Aquatic Center.
Stanford (15-4, 3-1 MPSF) delivered an important MPSF victory and continued its dominance of USC (15-5, 2-1 MPSF), having won eight of the last 10 meetings overall. Six of those victories have resulted in a tournament title (2 NCAA, 2 MPSF, 2 Barbara Kalbus Invitational).
Stanford and USC have combined to win the last 13 NCAA championships and Saturday's matchup proved to be another hard-fought battle, fueling a rivalry that dominates the sport.
Sophia Sanders and Sophie Wallace added a pair of goals while Sanders and Sam Sternfels also dished out two assists.
USC was limited to 27 percent shooting (8-of-30) and 3-of-10 on power play opportunities.
The Cardinal trailed for only the first two and half minutes, with a goal from Julia Janov at the 7:19 mark accounting for the Trojans' 1-0 lead.
Stanford answered with five straight goals, taking its largest lead after Kamryn Barone's score at the 5:08 mark of the second quarter made it 5-1.
After Wallace converted a penalty shot for a 6-2 lead, USC scored twice before halftime to cut the deficit to 6-4.
Hawkins and Sanders scored the only goals of the third period, doubling Stanford's lead to 8-4.
Hawkins achieved her hat trick at the 4:21 mark of the fourth quarter, giving the Cardinal its largest cushion of the game at 10-4.
Maya Avital finished with five saves.
The Cardinal returns to action on Sunday, April 14, hosting Indiana at 12 p.m. in a match televised by Pac-12 Networks.
Stanford Goals: Maggie Hawkins (3), Sophia Sanders (2), Sophie Wallace (2), Kamryn Barone (1), Christina Hicks (1), Skyler Jones (1).