March 1, 2007

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This Week
The Stanford University women's lacrosse team returns home after playing three of its first four games of the season on the road. The Cardinal play host to UConn this Sunday, marking the first game of their season-long three-game homestand. Stanford traveled to Storrs, Conn. last season, topping the Huskies 10-7.

March 4th - Maloney Field - Stanford, Calif.
Stanford (1-3/1-1) vs. Connecticut(1-1/0-0) - 1:00 PM (PST)

On the Horizon
The Cardinal continue their three-game home stretch that packs three games into a one week span on Friday, March 9. Stanford hosts No. 9 James Madison at 7:00 PM in its first game under the lights this season. Just two days later, Colgate comes to Maloney Field for a Sunday afternoon matchup. Stanford hosts the Red Raiders for a 1:00 PM start on March 11. The Cardinal then hits the road again playing three games in six days on the East Coast to round out March.

So Far This Season
The Cardinal began the 2007 season on the road at Oregon on February 10. For the first time since the 2000 season, Stanford opened the season with a loss, dropping a 10-6 decision to the Ducks. The Cardinal bounced back with a 22-6 rout of Saint Mary's to earn their first win of the season and first league victory on February 16. Stanford followed the win with a 14-8 loss to No. 2 Duke and a tought 12-11 double overtime loss at Notre Dame. The loss to the Irish marked the second straight year in which the two teams have gone to double overtime to reach a decision. Cardinal goalkeeper Laura Shane faced 40 shots against both the Blue Devils and the Irish, making a combined 35 saves in the two defeats.

Born Leaders
Along with Lauren Schmidt, both senior midfielder Liz Piselli and junior attacker Daphne Patterson have emerged as offensive leaders for the Cardinal in the first few weeks of the season. Piselli has totaled eight pints on the season, scoring seven goals and one assist, and has been dominant on draws, leading the team with 11 draw controls. Meanwhile, Patterson has accumulated 10 points on nine goals and one assist this season, good for second on the Stanford squad. The trio has combined to score on 54 percent of their shots this season, posting 32 of the Cardinal's 71 points this season.

Scouting the Huskies
UConn enters this week with a 1-1 record overall. The Huskies are coming off of an 11-7 loss at Yale on Wednesday. Connecticut finished with a 5-11 record last season, going winless in its five Big East Conference games. Head Coach Megan Cersosimo is in her first season at the helm for the Huskies. Cersosimo is a 2001 UConn alum and has been a member of the coaching staff each season since graduation. A pair of senior midfielders lead the Huskies. Shannon Burke leads the team with 11 points on eight assists and three goals, while Kristin Link is the scoring leader with six goals. Freshman goalkeeper Jenna Moulton has started both games for UConn, amassing a 7.56 goals against average while making 13 saves.

First timers
Five more freshmen made their collegiate debut in the second week of the season, giving each of the Cardinal newcomers a taste of the action this season. Midfielders Charity Fluharty, Eleanor Foote and Sarah Blahnik and attackers Claire Hubbard and Julie Mithun got playing time against Duke and Saint Mary's. Opening weekend, Schmidt and five other freshmen made their debut in a Cardinal uniform. Attackers Amanda Schwab, Amy Stillwell and Dana Lindsay and midfielders Julie Christy and Leigh Lucas joined Schmidt on the field at Oregon. Including Schmidt's 11 goals and 14 points, Stanford freshmen have contributed 20 goals, 10 assists and 13 draw controls through the first four games. With the loss of attackers Megan Burker and Sarah Bach and midfielder Nyerr Parham to graduation last year, there is plenty of room for the Cardinal's 11 freshmen, all of whom are attackers and midfielders, to step up and contribute immediately.

Schmidt Snags MPSF Player of the Week Award
Freshman midfielder Lauren Schmidt earned the second Player of the Week award of the 2007 from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) on February 20. Schmidt led the Cardinal with seven goals for the week of February 13, notching five against Saint Mary's to tie for the second-most goals in a game in program history. The Bay Shore, NY native also chipped in two goals in the loss to Duke and tallied two assists on the week. Schmidt now leads the Cardinal with 11 goals and 14 points just four games into her collegiate career.

Conference Domination
Even with the season opening loss to Oregon, Head Coach Michele Uhlfelder (73-39, .652) has led Stanford on a streak of overwhelming conference domination. Including the defeat at Oregon and win over Saint Mary's, Uhlfelder has lost just two regular season conference matches and has garnered five conference championships. Since joining the MPSF in 2003, the team has captured every regular season title and three tournament championships. Notably, Stanford has faced California in three of four MPSF Tournament championship games, claiming victory in two out of three. The MPSF is a young and growing west coast conference. Last season marked the first time that Cal has not reached the tournament championship game since Stanford joined the conference. In 2006, the Cardinal defeated Denver 12-6 to take home the tournament title. With the addition of Oregon in 2005, the conference expanded to six schools: Stanford, California, UC Davis, Saint Mary's, Oregon and Denver.

Moving On Up
Although it is early in the season, a few Stanford players are already moving up the ranks in the Cardinal career record book. Senior midfielder Liz Piselli's first assist of the season against Oregon was the 23rd of her career, moving her into a tie for eighth place all-time. Piselli is just 15 assists away from reaching the top five in that category, while her 63 career draw controls rank fourth all-time. Junior goalkeeper Laura Shane notched her 40th career game against Notre Dame, giving her sole possession of second place all-time for Stanford goalies. Shane is just three saves away from matching the career saves record and holds the Cardinal record for minutes played in goal at 2312:50.