The Stanford women’s lacrosse team improved its record to 4-0 this Sunday at Cagan Stadium with a win over Harvard. The game was hard fought for both sides, and the Cardinal’s 18-17 victory did not come easily.
The Crimson (0-1) led the game early, taking a quick 2-0 lead within the first three minutes of the game. This was the first time all season that No. 13 Stanford (4-0, 1-0 MPSF) had trailed, and the Cardinal took a while to regroup.
While Stanford was trying to find its groove, the Crimson built up its lead to 9-5 with 6:47 left in the first half. In order to allow her team to regroup, Stanford head coach Amy Bokker called a timeout. The move did just that, and a new team stepped back on the field, full of energy and poise.
“The whole first half we were feeling a little jittery,” said sophomore defender Elizabeth Adam. “But when the coaches pulled us in for the timeout, they told us, completely calmly, that they had faith in us to pull this game out. That really calmed us down and got our heads back in the fight.”
With only a few minutes left in the first half, the Cardinal scored four consecutive goals to tie the game at 9-9. Coming off the bench, sophomore midfielder Jacqueline Candelaria added two goals and the energy the team needed to close in on the Crimson. Senior midfielder Leslie Foard scored the final goal of the half to complete her hat trick and to tie the game with just 47 seconds left.
Just 13 seconds into the second half, Stanford took its first lead of the game with a goal by senior midfielder Karen Nesbitt. The Cardinal, riding on the momentum of Nesbitt’s goal, pushed the lead to 12-9 with goals from redshirt senior midfielder Lauren Schmidt and junior midfielder Anna Boeri.
Although its lead was relinquished, the Crimson did not go down easily, scoring six straight goals to retake the lead. With 9:53 left, the Crimson had a 17-16 lead, but the Cardinal once again found the momentum and fought back.
Nesbitt scored her fourth goal of the game with 6:53 left to tie the game back up. For the fifth time in the game, Harvard and Stanford were knotted up, and each team had chances to score the go-ahead goal.
Once again, Candelaria took it upon herself to secure Stanford’s victory. As the final minutes dwindled, Candelaria drew a foul in the eight-meter arc, giving her a free-position shot. With confidence, Candelaria took the eight-meter, looked the goalie in the eyes and then buried a shot. Her free-position shot was her fourth goal of the game and turned out to be the difference.
Aside from Candelaria’s aggressive attacking skills, senior goalkeeper Annie Read stepped up big in the final minutes of the game, denying the Crimson its last shot on cage and securing the one-goal victory for Cardinal. Read came up with several strong saves considering she was playing with an ear infection.
“Throughout the whole game, many different people stepped up and made an impact when we needed them too.” said sophomore midfielder Carolyn Bradley.
After the win, Stanford will now hit the road for the first time this year. The Cardinal will open a five-game road trip with games against Ohio State and Canisius in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday and Sunday.