ITHACA, N.Y. — No. 7/6 Stanford had a resounding bounceback performance against Cornell on Sunday, dispatching the Big Red on the road, 11-7, to close out a two-game road swing.
In what was a blustery affair in central New York, the Cardinal seized control in the second half, limiting the Big Red to just one goal - that of which came in the dying embers of what would be an eventual Cardinal win.
It was a defensive battle in the early going as neither side was able to find twine until Martha Oakey’s tally near the halfway mark of the quarter opened the scoring. Cornell then struck for two quick tallies before Jordyn Case evened the score, 2-2, with a man-up conversion before the quarter ended with a Big Red strike as the hosts held a one-goal lead through 15 minutes.
The Cardinal, however, was clinical in the second quarter, tacking on five goals in the frame to upend the momentum for the Big Red. After Elise Murphy and Lindsey Devir knotted the score at four, Cornell retook the lead with two strikes of their own with 6:26 remaining in the half to put Stanford in the hole by two. That’s when the Cardinal came to life.
Just 22 seconds after the Big Red brought the lead to two, Maddigan Miller slotted her 10th of the season while two minutes later, Aliya Polisky knotted her first of the afternoon - and 24th of the season - to tie things at six-all. With under a minute remaining, Stanford grabbed the last goal of the half as Ava Arceri finished off a tight feed in front to give the visitors a one-goal lead heading into the break.
From then on out, the Cardinal suffocated the Big Red offense, courtesy of some clutch saves from its junior goalkeeper, Lucy Pearson. Pearson, who was called into action eight times during the second half, grabbed seven saves in the second half including five in the fourth quarter alone to stymie the Cornell offense. Pearson finished the afternoon with a season-high 12 saves in the contest.
The Cardinal grabbed four of the final five goals on the day, grabbing two in the third quarter from Polisky and Arceri to take a 9-6 lead into the final quarter. Stanford pushed the lead to a game-high five goals after Polisky and Arceri combined to complete their hat tricks, respectively, and grab an 11-6 lead before Cornell’s last minute tally gave the visitors its eventual 11-7 victory.
As a whole, Stanford forced Cornell into 11 turnovers in the second half, earning nine caused turnovers on the day with Allison Baldwin leading the team with two on her account. Stanford’s 29:23 of shutdown lacrosse was the longest stretch of game time the Cardinal held the opposition scoreless this season.
Stanford is back in action this weekend at Cagan Stadium, taking on ACC opponents Virginia Tech on Friday, March 14 before hosting Yale on Sunday, March 16. Friday's affair is slated for 3 p.m. PT while Sunday's matinee is scheduled for 1 p.m. PT.