March 5, 2008
by Clare Lochary, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
When an unranked team has the poise to stand up to a top 10 team and win, it's noteworthy. When a team pulls off the same feat mere days after a midseason coaching change, it's extraordinary.
Stanford's 13-9 upset of then-No. 10 Notre Dame on Sunday at Cagan Stadium came just six days after eight-year head coach Michele Uhlfelder resigned from her position.
Uhlfelder last coached the team in an 8-7 win over Oregon on Feb. 2; she was not on the sidelines for games against UC Davis (Feb. 13), Duke (Feb. 17) and California (Feb. 23).
Assistant coaches Adam Norton and Jen Kasper helmed the Cardinal for that three-game stretch, and have since been promoted to interim head coaches for the remainder of the 2008 season. Norton is in his second season with the program; Kasper, a 2007 UMBC graduate and former Retrievers team captain, was hired in August.
"It has been a galvanizing process over the past couple weeks. They've been playing with an enthusiasm, an excitement and a passion that's been amazing to watch," said Norton. "We just quite simply played a complete game [against Notre Dame] and were energized and connected from one end of the field to the other."
The reasons for Uhlfelder's resignation are unknown; she did not return a phone call seeking comments. Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby also declined to provide details on Uhlfelder's departure, but praised the departing coach.
"Michele has done a very good job. She was a tireless advocate for lacrosse on the West Coast. I think her eight years here corresponded with some amazing growth. I think she has a lot of years of coaching in front of her," said Bowlsby.
While Uhlfelder's future is unclear, her former team's commitment to winning is apparent. The win over Notre Dame was a watershed moment.
The Cardinal-Irish match-up has been a spirited one in recent years, with Notre Dame escaping with double-overtime wins in 2006 and 2007. Stanford (4-2) broke the streak with a 4-0 run late in the first half, led by a pair of goals from senior middie Megan McClain, who finished with four goals.
Senior goalie Laura Shane preserved the margin with a 17-save performance, earning Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Week honors.
The win punctuated what has already been an exciting and tumultuous year for the team, especially the freshmen class. Norton noted that his rookies are the only class in the country who played the U.S national team within weeks of coming to campus (at the Stars & Stripes event in Oregon in October), traveled to Japan (on a winter break trip) and lost their coach midseason.
"I told them it's OK to be overwhelmed, but you're not freshmen any more," said Norton.
The next test of Stanford's newfound grit (and recently bestowed IWCLA No. 20 ranking) comes this afternoon, when the Cardinal faces Boston College (1-1).
"As a former player and as a coach, I look at this game as absolutely a springboard for the rest of the season. If we're able to maintain this energy and focus and momentum, and put together another good game on Wednesday, then we'll be in a really good position to do battle with [No. 6 ranked] UPenn (2-0) on Sunday," said Norton. "Our season doesn't get easier. It gets harder."
Just down the road
If Bowlsby is correct about Uhlfelder's future prospects as a coach and she in fact intends to return to the profession, there's another NorCal school that would be lucky to have her.
While I spent 700 words questioning Fresno State's commitment to women's lacrosse a few weeks back, Uhlfelder's sudden availability could be the Bulldogs' saving grace. She's a proven winner (.649) at Stanford who did an excellent job of luring East Coast talent westward. Of the 30 players on the Cardinal roster, only sophomore attacker Julie Mithun (Mill Valley, Calif.) is from the West Coast.
Uhlfelder was also a member of the U.S. Lacrosse National Teams Program from 1990 to 2001.
Perusing the Polls
Stanford is the only new entry to the IWCLA Division I poll, but this week's rankings are already old news, after No. 5 Maryland's 8-5 defeat of No. 2 Virginia yesterday. While there was some minor movement in the lower divisions, C.W. Post and West Chester (D-II) and Franklin & Marshall and Salisbury (D-III) are still the one-two punches of their respective polls.
Making debuts in the 2008 USILA Division I men's lacrosse poll this week are Army (No. 17) and Fairfield (No. 20). The Black Knights (2-1) will try to sustain their momentum at No. 8 Cornell this weekend, while the Stags visit No. 19 Rutgers.
Contact Clare Lochary at clochary@uslacrosse.org.
