April 30, 2007

DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis will host the six-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women's lacrosse championships at its new Aggie Stadium from Friday, May 4 through Sunday, May 6. The tournament field comprises California, Stanford, Oregon, Denver, Saint Mary's and the host Aggies.

This is the fourth year the MPSF has sponsored a championship tournament for women's lacrosse. Stanford won the last two conference titles, after Cal captured the inaugural championship back in 2004. The MPSF evolved from the Mountain Pacific Lacrosse League, which in turn was formerly the North division of the Western Women's Lacrosse League.

Denver (15-2) enters the tournament as the top seed, having ranked as high as No. 14 in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Division I poll this season. The Pioneers hold a 5-0 record against the MPSF, including 20-goal performances against Oregon and Saint Mary's. Reigning MPSF Player of the Year Kristie Leggio has scored 59 goals with 39 assists, ranking third nationally at 5.76 points per game. Freshman sensation Ali Flury is close behind in the scoring column with 56 goals. DU's defense has been equally potent, made evident by goalkeeper Becky Childs' league-best 7.95 goals-against average.

In just its third year sponsoring women's lacrosse, Oregon (11-6) has claimed the tourney's No. 2 seed, finishing with a 4-1 mark against the conference. The Ducks went undefeated at home, including MPSF wins against Stanford and UC Davis to open the season. UO has featured a balanced offense all year, with seven players averaging at least one goal per game. Junior midfielder and former MPSF Newcomer of the Year Jen May has a team-best 32 ground balls and 35 draw controls to go with her 21 goals on offense.

Third-seeded Stanford finished the regular season with a 6-8 record, although the Cardinal faced the toughest slate of any of the six MPSF teams, so says the Strength of Schedule analysis at laxpower.com. In fact, six of Stanford's eight setbacks came against nationally ranked teams, including a 12-8 loss to leaguemate Denver. Junior attacker Daphne Patterson leads the Farm offensively with 26 goals while senior midfielder Liz Piselli has compiled team bests of 20 ground balls and 40 draw controls. Laura Shane is the lone MPSF goalie with a save percentage of better than .500, posting 160 saves to her 147 goals allowed.

Like its archrival, fourth-seed California posted a 6-8 ledger during the regular season. The Golden Bears also gave Denver its toughest race of any of the MPSF teams, falling in a 14-12 battle at Peter Barton Stadium last Saturday. Senior midfielder Laura Cavallo has made a strong case for a third straight All-MPSF nod, leading Cal with 39 goals, 50 points and a .582 shooting percentage. She has been especially tough against conference foes, scoring five in last week's win over Saint Mary's and four each in games against Denver, Stanford and UC Davis.

Midfielder Megan O'Connor, shown here with Saint Mary's Abbie Coleman in the historic first draw at Aggie Stadium, looks to end her outstanding senior year on a high note. (Wayne Tilcock, Davis Enterprse)

Tournament host UC Davis picked up a 16-5 win over Saint Mary's to even its season record at 8-8 and claim the No. 5 seed over the Gaels. Midfielder and co-captain Megan O'Connor has made the most of her senior year, leading the Aggies in almost every category, including goals (39), assists (22), ground balls (54), draw controls (38) and caused turnovers (31). Jen Sanderson, also a senior co-captain, has anchored the defense with 31 ground balls and 13 steals while providing nine points on offense. Junior goalkeeper Hilary Harkins twice matched her career-best 19 saves against conference foes Denver and Oregon.

Saint Mary's finished the year with a 3-12 mark and went winless in MPSF play, dropping Saturday's 15-6 decision to UC Davis to claim the tourney's sixth seed. Senior Jackie Spencer and sophomore P.J. Hainley lead the Gaels offensively with 24 and 20 goals, respectively. However, both midfielders were held scoreless in losses to Cal and UC Davis last week.

The MPSF Championships begin Friday afternoon with the Cal-UC Davis quarterfinal at 3 p.m., followed by the Stanford-Saint Mary's quarter a half-hour later. Denver and Oregon, which earned first-round byes, will take on the winners of those respective games Saturday afternoon.

Tickets are available through the UC Davis Ticket Office at (530) 752-1915 or by visiting tickets.ucdavis.edu. Single-day tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors, students and children; or three-day all-session tickets may be purchased for $18 and $12.

Detailed tournament information and an online results center is available at www.ucdavisaggies.com.

2007 MPSF LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
UC Davis Aggie Stadium

Friday, May 4
Game 1 - No. 4 California vs. No. 5 UC Davis (quarterfinals), 3 p.m.
Game 2 - No. 3 Stanford vs. No. 6 Saint Mary's (quarterfinals), 5 p.m.

Saturday, May 5
Game 3 - Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 (fifth place), 1 p.m.
Game 4 - No. 1 Denver vs. Winner of Game 1 (semifinal), 3 p.m.
Game 5 - No. 2 Oregon vs. Winner of Game 2 (semifinal), 5 p.m.

Sunday, May 6
Game 6 - Loser of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 5 (third place), 11 a.m.
Game 7 - Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5 (championship), 1 p.m.

UC Davis Aggies Women's Lacrosse

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