CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Lucy Pearson’s season-high 11 saves combined with an early second-quarter lead was the difference as the No. 2-seed Stanford women’s lacrosse team earned its second-consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Quarterfinal win, dispatching the No. 7-seed Boston College Eagles, 14-7, on Wednesday evening. With the win, Stanford advances to the ACC Semifinals to play the winner of Notre Dame and Clemson on Friday, April 24. Opening draw from American Legion Memorial Stadium is slated for 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
Pearson collected eight of her 11 saves in the middle two quarters while her 11 saves is the most in a game for the senior since collecting 13 in the win over Clemson on April 10, 2025. Stanford also recorded nine different goalscorers on Wednesday, marking the 12th time this season the Cardinal has had eight or more different players record a goal while posting an 11-1 record in those games.
With eight minutes to go in the second quarter, Mallory Hasselbeck stepped up to the eight-meter mark with a chance to extend the early momentum for the Cardinal. Leading 5-1 halfway through the frame, the fifth-year slotted home her first goal against her former school, giving Stanford a 6-1 advantage with eight minutes until the half.
No. 11/9 Stanford (14-3, 8-2 ACC) stormed out of the gates against the No. 12 Eagles (9-7, 6-4 ACC) with Aliya Polisky tallying the first goal of the afternoon having gone one-on-one and beating her defender on the dodge. Following a Boston College tally, Lexi Rodell answered with her own one-on-one goal to put Stanford ahead 2-1. The scoring continued with Rylee Bouvier snagging her first of the day before Annabel Frist tallied her first off a feed from Martha Oakey to give Stanford a 4-1 lead through the first quarter.
In the second, Polisky doubled-down late in the shot clock for her second of the day to bring Stanford ahead 5-1 before Hasselbeck’s tally put the Cardinal in the driver’s seat. BC, however, grabbed two goals in quick succession to cut the lead to three before Amanda Lawson’s coast-to-coast tally brought Stanford back in front, 7-3. Oakey ended the scoring run for the Cardinal off a feed from Jordyn Case before BC snagged the final goal of the half as Stanford led 8-4 into the break.
Heading out of the break, BC went on a quick 2-0 run to cut within two goals. However, that was as close as the Eagles would get.
Ava Arceri ended the BC scoring run with a nifty finish in front after Oakey found the junior all alone in front of cage to put Stanford back up, 8-6. The Cardinal continued its torrid offensive pace with two goals in the final two minutes as Hasselbeck snagged her brace before Jordyn Case’s highlight-reel tally put the Cardinal ahead 11-6 heading into the fourth.
Though BC tallied the frame’s opening goal, Stanford continued to berate the BC defense with three more tallies. Frist collected the brace while Polisky snagged the hat trick to give the Cardinal a six-goal spot. Bouvier ended the scoring with five minutes to go to give Stanford a 14-7 lead that it closed out to the final whistle.
Defensively, Stanford clamped down on the Eagles, holding BC to its second-lowest goal total of the season. The Cardinal defense forced nine of BC’s 17 turnovers on the evening as Rylee Bouvier led the charge with three - moving into second all-time in a single season for caused turnovers with her 33rd. The Cardinal also stymied BC on from the eight-meter hash as the Eagles went 0-for-2 on the day.
Stanford is back in action on Friday, April 24 for the semifinals of the ACC Women’s Lacrosse Championships. Opening draw is slated for 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.