March 27, 2011
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.
