Stanford Wins 6th Straight MPSF Crown
from press release
DENVER - It wasn't easy, but Stanford captured
its sixth consecutive MPSF conference tournament title with a
thrilling, 11-10 overtime win over Denver in the MPSF Championship.
The Cardinal battled back from an overtime deficit, before Karen
Nesbitt scored the sudden victory goal to give Stanford the victory
and the tournament title. The win means Stanford will advance to
the NCAA play-in game on Saturday against Massachusetts.
Stanford led early, taking a 4-2 lead to the half, but the Pioneers
fought back to force overtime. After a scoreless first three
minutes of OT, Denver got on the board to take a 10-9 lead with
2:28 to play. Denver won the ensuing draw control and the Cardinal
appeared to be seeing its season winding down. However, Stanford
refused to go down easily and forced a turnover to win back
possession. The Cardinal called timeout with 48 seconds to play,
knowing it needed a goal to extend the game and its season.
Coming out of the timeout, Lauren Schmidt showed why she is the
two-time defending conference player of the year. Schmidt dodged
into the box and delivered a strong shot from an impossible angle
into the back of the net. Just 28 seconds away from the end of the
season, Stanford had tied things back up and the game would head to
a sudden-victory overtime period.
Stanford won the draw control to open the period as Leslie Foard
added her team-leading 36th of the season. The Cardinal had a
couple of chances, but two Julie Christy shots were saved and
Denver regained possession. The Pioneers had limited time to
advance the ball before the end of the period and were forced to
hurry. Stanford created the turnover as Denver was called for a
charge. Karen Nesbitt took the ball with as the game's final
seconds clicked off. With just five seconds remaining, Nesbitt
fired off a shot and found the back of the net for the game-winner.
There was nothing left for the Cardinal to do, but celebrate.
The win not only gives the Cardinal their sixth-consecutive
conference tournament title, but earns the automatic bid to the
NCAA play-in game. The Cardinal will take on UMass next Saturday,
May 8, at 1 p.m. at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. Because this is an NCAA
match, the game will be ticketed. Call 1-800-STANFORD for
tickets.
In addition to the critical goals, both Schmidt and Nesbitt had hat
tricks. Schmidt took over the team lead for points in the game with
53. The three goals give her 33 for the season to go with 20
assists.
Despite, the heroics of Schmidt and Nesbitt, it was Leigh Lucas
that was named the tournament MVP. The senior midfielder had had
two ground balls and two draw controls in Sunday's final. Joining
Lucas on the all-tournament team from Stanford were Schmidt, Foard
and goalkeeper Annie Read.
Read improved to 14-4 on the season, making 11 saves in the final.
Dana Lindsay added a pair of goals, while Amanda Schwab, Catherine
Swanson and Foard contributed the other Stanford goals.
Stanford has not appeared in the NCAA tournament since 2006, when
it lost a first round game to Northwestern. UMass is the
Atlantic-10 conference champion and advanced to the play-in game on
a predetermined format that had the MPSF champ and A-10 champ
squaring off.
