MPSF Women's Lacrosse Weekly Release: 2/18/08
Feb. 18, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Statistics in PDF Format
Scoreboard in PDF Format
STANFORD picked up its second MPSF win this past Wednesday, 13-7 over UC Davis in Palo Alto. The Cardinal scored 10 first half goals and never trailed. Sophomore Claire Hubbard nailed a hat trick and contributed an assist. Senior Laura Shane recorded 10 saves in the net. The Cardinal traveled to Dallas, TX, Sunday and faced No. 3 Duke, a 16-9 Blue Devil win. Stanford led 5-4 late in the first half, before Duke took over. Shane stopped 11 shots, while senior Daphne Patterson put away four goals and freshman Karen Nesbitt added two. Stanford and California do battle in MPSF action Saturday (Feb. 23) at 1 pm in Berkeley. The Cardinal won last year's meeting at home, 11-8.
DENVER began its season with two road losses against a pair of top-10 teams in No. 3 Duke (16-11) Friday and No. 8 North Carolina (15-9) Sunday. Senior Megan Carver knocked in four goals in Chapel Hill and junior Karen Morton added three. Morton also scored a hat trick in Durham, while junior Steph Coyne collected two goals and two assists. The Pioneers were only down 7-6 at the break vs. the Blue Devils. 17th-ranked Denver plays its home opener on Friday (Feb. 22) vs. Stony Brook.
CALIFORNIA opened its season Sunday with a 15-9 home loss to three-time defending NCAA Champion and top-ranked Northwestern. Senior Danni Zuralow equaled a game-high six points on four goals and two assists. The Bears were competitive throughout in the debut of head coach Theresa Sherry, leading late in the first half, 3-2. Junior goalkeeper Morgan Dyson made her first collegiate start and had 13 saves. Cal and Stanford renew their rivalry Saturday (Feb. 23) at 1 pm in Berkeley for MPSF action. The Bears pulled off the upset in the last home meeting in 2006, 9-6.
UC DAVIS fell 13-7 at Stanford last Wednesday in an MPSF contest. Senior Hilary Harkins recorded 10 saves in goal, while seniors Katie McMahon and Katie McGovern led the Aggies with two goals each. UC Davis next competes Feb. 28 against Mount St. Mary's, when it will begin a six-game home stretch over a three week period.
OREGON took the week off and now heads east to Virginia Tech Friday (Feb. 22) and No. 19 Richmond Sunday (Feb. 24). The Ducks are coming off a conference split, edged at Stanford 8-7 and a win at UC Davis 15-5.
ST. MARY'S does not begin its season until Feb. 29 when hosting Mount St. Mary's. Top returnees include junior PJ Hainley (2.18 PPG) and sophomore Abbie Coleman (1.94 PPG) who each finished in the MPSF top-25 scoring last year. Junior goalkeeper Hilary Gardner collected 6.47 saves per game, ranking fourth in the conference.
ZURALOW AND MORTON NAMED MPSF PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Woodland, Calif. -California senior Danni Zuralow (Fairfax, VA) matched a game-high six points on four goals and two assists vs. top-ranked Northwestern Sunday. She put the Bears ahead 3-2 with about 10 minutes left in the first half....
Denver junior Karen Morton (Adelaide, Australia) registered two hat tricks this past weekend on the road against two of the nation's best, No. 3 Duke and No. 8 North Carolina.