STANFORD, Calif. — No. 7/8 Stanford is back in action this weekend, playing host to Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) foe, Virginia Tech, on Friday, March 14 before hosting the No. 4 Yale Bulldogs for a matinee on Sunday, March 16. Opening draw against the Hokies is slated for 3 p.m. while Sunday’s matinee is slated for 1 p.m.
Stanford is hosting its annual Pink Game against the Hokies on Friday in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. Fans in attendance can pick up a free t-shirt and/or pom pom while supplies last. The Cardinal is also hosting its Kids Day & Camper Reunion on Sunday against the Bulldogs. Fans are encouraged to stick around after the game for postgame autographs from the junior class.
SEVENS
Stanford enters the weekend having split a pair in New York last weekend, dropping a close contest to No. 11/10 Syracuse in double-overtime, 14-13, before stonewalling Cornell in a blustery affair on Sunday, 11-7. Against the Orange, Stanford erased two separate deficits of three goals or more to push the game into an extra frame. WIth no side able to find twine in the first overtime period, the Orange capitalized on a shot-clock defying goal to eke out a 14-13 victory. Against Cornell, the Cardinal clamped down defensively, limiting the Big Red to one goal in the second half to grab the 11-7 win.
Former ACC Player of the Week, Ava Arceri, led the Cardinal offensively during the two-game slate, amassing six goals and five draw controls through the weekend. Arceri collected her fourth consecutive hat trick - and fifth in the last six games - against the Big Red, having her first goal of the afternoon stand as the eventual game winner. Arceri also collected a hat trick against the Orange as her hat-trick tally with 2:14 remaining in regulation pushed the game to overtime. Arceri sits second on the team with 22 goals through eight games this season.
Stanford currently ranks inside the top-10 in all three women’s lacrosse polls entering the weekend. Last week’s ranking of No. 6 tied the program’s highest ranking in the polls since the 2012 preseason. Stanford’s No. 6 position in the ILWomen.com poll and USA Lacrosse Magazine poll was the highest in the regular season in program history.
Sophomore Aliya Polisky enters the weekend having had her hat-trick streak snapped in the outing against Syracuse. However, the Tennessee native followed up Friday’s affair with her seventh hat trick of the season and 10th in her last 12 appearances dating back to last season with a three-goal outing against Cornell. Polisky currently leads the Cardinal in goals with 26 this season and sits tied in points with Elise Murphy with both grabbing 31 so far.
Sophomore Elise Murphy and freshman Martha Oakey lead the team in assists with 22 and 15, respectively, entering the weekend slate. Murphy grabbed six helpers last weekend with three in both games against Syracuse and Cornell to extend her team lead and place her third in the ACC. Oakey, who grabbed three assists last weekend, sits 15th in the conference in assists and top-40 in the nation.
With a 7-1 start to the campaign, Stanford is enjoying its best start to a season since 2021 where the Cardinal went a perfect 11-0 in the regular season before falling in the NCAA Tournament to Denver (15-13). Prior to 2021, Stanford had only been undefeated through the first eight games once in program history, starting the 2011 season 8-0 before finishing 16-3 with an NCAA Tournament bid and MPSF Tournament championship.
Stanford boasts the third-best offense in the conference heading into the weekend, putting up 120 goals through eight games while grabbing the fourth-best scoring at +6.0. Defensively, Stanford ranks tied for first in the conference in ground balls per game (20.00) while placing fifth in caused turnovers per game at 10.38. The Cardinal is also one of the best draw control teams in the ACC, averaging 15.00 draw controls per game which ranks fifth.