March 3, 2012
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Twelve second-half goals led the No. 9 Vanderbilt women’s lacrosse team to a 15-9 victory at No. 16 Stanford Saturday at Cagan Stadium.
Trailing 6-3 at the half, the Commodores took less than two minutes to tie the game in the second stanza. Vanderbilt scored six of the first seven goals in the period to grab a 9-7 lead they would not relinquish. Ten Commodores scored on the day, with five players contributing two goals apiece. Seniors Ally Carey and Hannah Clark led the squad with four points each. Vanderbilt totalled nine assists on its 15 goals scored.
“After a really flat first half, it was good to see the team respond the way they did,” VU Head Coach Cathy Swezey said. “We took our intensity and aggression to another level in the second half, and it was really a great team performance. We had success pushing the ball, and when we were out on the fast break it really allowed us to spread the scoring around.
“I would be remiss not to mention Ally Carey,” Swezey added. “She was tremendous today and I think our team really piggy-backed on her play.”
Carey controlled the center circle, giving the Commodores a 15-11 edge in draw controls while winning seven draws on her own. The Bel Air, Md., native has 200 draw controls for her VU career. With four offensive points, Carey moves up to fifth all-time on Vanderbilt’s career scoring list (168 points), passing Kate Hickman and April Tellam.
Vanderbilt won the first three draws of the second half, helping them tie the game in only 1:56. Junior Carly Linthicum scored at the 29:21 mark off an assist from sophomore Katie Mastropieri. Mastropieri would score 40 seconds later off a Clark assist. Only 37 seconds came off the clock before Clark found senior Kendall Pittinger for the game-tying goal.
Stanford retook the lead at 7-6 before another three-goal run by VU. Freshman Meggie Ramzy scored her second goal of the game on an eight-meter shot to tie the game at 7-7. Pittinger then assisted junior Casey Bakker to give VU its first lead. Only 16 seconds later, the Dores would add another to make it 9-7 when Carey won a draw and fed fellow senior Alex Priddy.
The Cardinal got back within one, but Vanderbilt quickly expanded its advantage. Sophomore Abby Wheeler scored a short-handed goal at the 12:51 mark, and tallies by Kacie Connors and Clark grew the VU lead to 12-8. Stanford managed only one more goal, with Linthicum, Carey and Clark scoring the final three goals of the game for VU.
Senior goalkeeper Natalie Wills made six saves on the day to earn her second win of the year. Stanford’s Lyndsey Munoz had 11 stops in the losing effort.
In the first half, the Cardinal scored four of the game’s first five goals, with VU’s initial goal not coming until the 19:16 mark by Carey. At the 6:36 mark, freshman Meggie Ramzy scored her first collegiate goal. Carey would win the ensuing draw and send the Commodores back on the attack. After a shot by Kacie Connors was saved, Ramzy picked up the ground ball and eventually Kelly Connors found Alex Priddy for another VU goal to cut the Stanford lead to 4-3.
The Commodores (2-1) will return to Nashville tomorrow and play host to Boston College on Wednesday, March 7. The opening draw of that game is scheduled for 12 Noon CT at the VU Lacrosse Complex.
