Stanford Wins Fifth-Straight MPSF Title

4/27/2009 12:00:00 AM

April 27, 2009

NO. 14 STANFORD (6-0 MPSF, 12-4 overall) won its fifth straight MPSF Title with an 18-13 victory over No. 3 seed California on its home field in Palo Alto Sunday. The Cardinal also defeated No. 5 seed UC Davis in the semifinal round, 17-3. Tournament MVP Karen Nesbitt, as well as Lauren Schmidt, each recorded three goals and two assists in the title game, while Leslie Foard delivered five goals and one assist. Claire Hubbard dished out three assists. In the win over the Aggies, Nesbitt, Foard, and Amanda Schwab all had hat tricks, while freshman Anna Boeri tied a school record with five assists. Foard, along with Eleanor Foote and Jamie Nesbitt joined Karen on the all-tournament team. Stanford has two regular season games left, vs. Louisville Thursday and at No. 3 Penn Saturday.

CALIFORNIA (4-2 MPSF, 8-11 overall) reached the championship game of the MPSF Tournament as the No. 3 seed, defeating No. 6 St. Mary's 17-6 and No. 2 Oregon 10-9, before the finals loss to Stanford. All-tournament honoree Alyse Kennedy scored a career-high six goals against the Gaels, while Sam Price delivered four assists in that game. Allie Welsh scored her first career hat trick. Kennedy added a pair of goals in the semifinal win over the Ducks and Morgan Dyson picked up 14 saves in goal. Alex Tickner scored five goals and had one assist in the title game en route to an all-tournament performance. Defender DennaFaye Herald was honored on that list as well.

OREGON (4-2 MPSF, 12-5 overall) defeated Fresno State19-2 in last Thursday's quarterfinal, before coming up just short of California 10-9 in the semi-final round. Bina Barrett tallied a game-high six points against the Bulldogs, on three goals and three assists. MPSF newcomer of the year Jana Drummond delivered a hat trick as did Kaitlyn Pasko. All-MPSF and tournament honoree Ilsa van den Berg had two goals and one assist vs. Cal. Casey Rector also made the al-tourney list. The Ducks end their season 12-5 overall, tying for second in the conference race.

UC DAVIS (2-4 MPSF, 6-11 overall) stunned No. 4 seed Denver 16-14 last Thursday in the MPSF quarterfinals, a team the Aggies had lost to 18-5 during the regular season. Down by one halfway through the second half, UCD used a 4-1 run to close out the win. The outcome marked the first win for UC Davis over Denver since the 2004 MPSF Tournament. Jacklyn Taylor poured in game and career-highs of five goals and five draw controls, while Britt Farquharson added four goals. Both players were selected to the All-MPSF Tournament team. Goalkeeper Alyssa Cranska picked up 10 saves in the complete game victory. Louisville visits Saturday (May 2) to finish the '09 year.

DENVER (4-2 MPSF, 10-7 overall) All-MPSF senior Karen Morton scored five goals in the quarterfinal loss to UC Davis to become the all-time leading scorer in Pioneer history. Her final goal gave her a total of 188 in the last four years, passing Steph Greenlees (2003-06). Morton added three assists for an eight-point game and would later be named to the all-tournament team. Steph Coyne recorded three goals and a pair of assists. Denver has one regular season game remaining, Saturday (May 2) at 15th-ranked Loyola (MD).

ST. MARY'S (1-5 MPSF, 3-13 overall) senior goalkeeper Hilary Gardner recorded 14 saves in her final outing, as the Gaels dropped a 17-6 MPSF quarterfinal game to California last Thursday. PJ Hainley scored twice while Dana Elfvin had one goal and one assist. Hainley was named to the all-tournament team.

FRESNO STATE (0-6 MPSF, 0-14 overall) lost to No. 2 seed Oregon, 19-2, in Thursday's quarterfinal round in Palo Alto. Heather Jack and Callie Seidman were responsible for the first two goals in the Bulldogs' first-ever postseason appearance. Sophomore defender Christina Cabias was named to the all-tournament team.