STANFORD, Calif. — On the heels of its second-highest ranked win in program history, the No. 5 Cardinal faces its toughest task to date, welcoming defending national champions No. 1 Boston College to The Farm on Saturday, March 22. Opening draw from Cagan Stadium is slated for 1 p.m. PT.
SEVENS
Stanford secured a plethora of team accolades last weekend, grabbing its highest ranked win at Cagan Stadium, second-highest ranked win in program history and its first top-five win in nearly 15 years following a nail-biting 11-10 win over No. 4 Yale last Sunday. Having secured a third Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) victory on Friday via a 23-4 decision over Virginia Tech, the Cardinal grabbed its DI-best 20th consecutive home victory against the Bulldogs. Lucy Pearson’s career-high 15th and final save of the afternoon with a minute to go stymied a late push from the visitors as the Cardinal took the statement win and a perfect 2-0 weekend.
Having accumulated 17 saves across the weekend, including a career-high 15 in the win over the No. 4 Bulldogs, Lucy Pearson earned Stanford’s first weekly defensive honor, claiming both the IWLCA National- and ACC Defensive Player of the Week nods. Pearson grabbed her 15 saves on 34 shots faced in the affair against Yale while also spearheading a defense that held Virginia Tech to one goal in the final 53:42 of game action, including a shutout run of 46:36 between the first and fourth quarter.
Stanford ranks inside the top-10 in all three women’s lacrosse polls for third-straight week entering into Saturday’s contest while grabbing program-high ranks in all three. Stanford, which ranked as high as sixth two weeks ago, set a new program high in both the ILWomen.com and IWLCA poll, slotting in fifth this week. The Cardinal also ranks fourth in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Top 20 which is also the highest in program history. Prior to this season, Stanford’s highest ranking came in the 2012 preseason poll where the Cardinal was ranked sixth.
With eight goals last weekend, Aliya Polisky continues to lead the Cardinal in the goal-scoring department through 10 games, tallying 34 so far in her sophomore campaign. Polisky, who tallied five of her eight goals against the Bulldogs helped aid Stanford to its 4-2 first quarter lead before securing her final three goals in what was a six-goal third quarter for the Cardinal. Against the Hokies, Polisky tallied three goals and added a helper as she leads the Cardinal with 40 points this season.
Elsewhere offensively, Stanford boasts one of the top scoring offenses, averaging 15.40 goals per game which sits third in the conference and 12th in the nation. Sophomore Elise Murphy has 22 assists this season to lead the Cardinal which slots fifth in the conference and 18th in the nation. Following suit, freshman Martha Oakey has 17 helpers this season which is good for eighth in the ACC. Stanford currently has three players with over 30 points including former ACC Offensive Player of the Week, Ava Arceri, whose 27 goals sits seventh in the conference while her 37 points ranks eighth.
With a 9-1 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 has also secured four ranked wins this season which is the most in a single season since the 2022 campaign.
Stanford continues to pave the way defensively this season, limiting opponents to 8.60 goals against which is third in the ACC and eighth in the nation after limiting Yale to its lowest goal total all season last weekend. Lucy Pearson sits 12th in the nation in goals-against average (8.75) while Olivia Rose leads the conference in ground balls per game (3.10). As a team, Stanford is top 10 nationally in caused turnovers per game, averaging 10 per game.