Vandy's Eight-Goal Run Stuns No. 7 Stanford
from press release
NASHVILLE -- Eight consecutive goals over
a 25-minute span propelled the 15th-ranked Vanderbilt women's
lacrosse team to a 15-10 victory over seventh-ranked Stanford on
Sunday at the VU Lacrosse Complex.
Senior Katherine Denkler led the Commodores with five goals, while
juniors Courtney Kirk and Kendall Pittinger each added three
apiece. Junior All-American Ally Carey scored two goals and added
three assists. Seniors Hannah Clark and Emily Franke tallied the
other goals for the Commodores.
The back-and-forth first half featured six ties and four lead
changes. Even at 5-5 with less than seven minutes to play in the
period, Stanford's Rachel Ozer gave the Cardinal a 6-5 lead. But VU
sophomore Paige Cahill won the ensuing draw and found Kirk behind
the defense to tie the game just nine seconds later.
That goal would be the first of eight straight tallies for
Vanderbilt, which held Stanford scoreless for nearly 27 minutes. A
Pittinger goal would give VU a 7-6 lead heading into the break, and
scores by Carey, Kirk (2), Clark and Denkler (2) would expand that
lead to 13-6 at the 12:21 mark of the second half.
The teams traded goals over the next few minutes, with Stanford
scoring twice in the game's final minute to reach the final 15-10
margin.
Sophomore goalkeeper Chelsea Pasfield had five saves for the
Commodores in her first career start. The Alexandia, Va., native
also had three ground balls and a caused turnover. Freshman Alyssa
Dunlap had a game-high five ground balls for the VU defense, while
Carey paced the team with three caused turnovers.
The Commodores will hit the road for three straight contests away
from Nashville, beginning on Wednesday, March 30, in Louisville.
Vanderbilt then travels to Baltimore, Md. (John Hopkins) and
Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State) before returning home to close out the
regular season against Florida and Notre Dame.
