Feb. 15, 2003

Stats

DAVIS, Calif. --- Sophomore Nina Pantano scored three goals and added an assist to lead Stanford to a 12-8 victory over UC Davis in a Mountain Pacific Lacrosse League game at Aggie Field Saturday. The game represented the season opener for both teams.

For the Aggies, Liz Collett scored her first career goal at 18:06 en route to a team-high three scores. Seniors Kelly Albin and Kate Hanson each had two goals and an assist, while Stacy Sugarman also scored. Leslie Kado recorded a pair of assists for UC Davis. Kristen Braasch posted 12 saves in net in her first collegiate start.

The Cardinal got two goals and two assists from both Kim Cahill and Kelsey Twist, while Meghan Bunker recorded a 2-1-3 line. In all, Stanford outshot UC Davis by a 40-12 margin.

The close margin on Saturday's game stands in contrast to the last year's contests between the two teams, when UC Davis lost to Stanford by a combined 28-9 in the season series.

"I thought it was a great opener," said Aggie head coach Elaine Jones. "Last year we got smacked 17-5. This year, we were in the game. From the first minute, I felt we were in the game.

"Our attack looked strong, our defense was good. Kristen had some good saves. We made them work for the majority of their goals."

Kado's feed to Albin at the 2:12 put UC Davis on the scoreboard first, but Stanford countered with a 3-0 run over the next 14 minutes. However, the Aggies responded with goals by Sugarman, Collett and Hanson to take a 4-3 lead. The Cardinal added two more goals after a timeout, but Collett punched in fast-break score to tie the game at 5-5. Twist's free-position goal gave Stanford a 6-5 lead at the halftime break.

The Cardinal opened the second half with a 5-1 run, three of which came on free-position opporunities. The Aggies' lone goal in that span was something of an oddity: Collett earned a free-position shot on an open net as Stanford goaltender Kate Horowitz was charged with a yellow card.

Albin scored her second goal at 50:27 and Kado set up Kate Hanson for a score at 55:41 to cut the Cardinal lead to 11-8, but Stanford kept the Aggies at bay for the final minutes, adding its 12th goal with less than a minute remaining.

The Aggies continue MPLL play with a game at Saint Mary's on Febrary 25.

GOALS - STAN: Nina Pantano 3, Kelsey Twist 2, Kim Cahill 2, Megan Burker 2, Abbi Hills 1, Sarah Bach 1, Jess Scott 1. UC DAVIS: Liz Collett 3, Kelly Albin 2, Kate Hanson 2, Stacy Sugarman 1.

ASSISTS - STAN: Kim Cahill 2, Kelsey Twist 2, Sarah Bach 1, Megan Burker 1, Abbi Hills 1, Nina Pantano 1.

GOALIES - STAN: Virginia Solomon 4 goals, 0 saves (19:31), Christina Silas 3 goals, 2 saves (23:01), Kate Horowitz 1 goal, 1 save (17:28). UC DAVIS: Kristen Braasch 12 goals, 12 saves (60:00).