April 10, 2005
Notre Dame, Ind. – Stanford senior midfielder Nina Pantano scored with 18 seconds left in the game to snap a 5-5 tie and give the Cardinal a 6-5 win over Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon at the Loftus Sports Center.
Stanford got single goals from six different players in the win while the Irish were led offensively by junior Crysti Foote (Suffern, N.Y.) who had two goals and two assists on the afternoon. The loss was Notre Dame’s third this season by one goal and their fifth by three goals or less.
The 11 goals that the two teams combined for equals the fewest goals in a Notre Dame women’s lacrosse game in the program’s nine-year history. On April 28, 2002, Notre Dame and Rutgers combined for 11 goals in a game with the Irish taking a 9-2 decision in that contest. Notre Dame is now 3-8 overall, while Stanford improves to 7-5 on the season.
The Cardinal got outstanding goalkeeping in the game as freshman Laura Shane made 14 saves in the Stanford goal as the Irish had a 26-19 edge in shots in the game. Carol Dixon (Sr., Pennsauken, N.J.) had seven stops for Notre Dame.
Stanford got on the scoreboard first just 1:34 into the game on a goal by Liz Piselli. Notre Dame countered with the next two goals as Foote set up Jackie Bowers (Sr., Springfield, Pa.) at the 5:27 mark. Foote would then give the Irish their only lead of the game at 13:39 when she beat Shane in close with an unassisted goal.
The Cardinal would tie the game less than five minutes later when Kelsey Twist beat Dixon on a free-position shot at 18:01 to make it 2-2. Just over a minute later, Stanford took the lead at 3-2 when Megan Burker scored at 19:08.
Freshman Caitlin McKinney (Fr., Lafayette Hill, Pa.) forced a turnover at midfield and passed ahead to Foote, who teamed with junior Brittany Fox (Annapolis, Md.) on a pretty passing play just 27 seconds later at 19:35 when Fox whipped a shot past Shane to tie the game at 3-3.
Sarah Bach then scored the final goal of the half when she converted a free-position shot at 23:28 to give the Cardinal a 4-3 lead going into the intermission. Stanford was 2-for-5 on free-position shots in the game while Notre Dame was 0-for-3.
The score stayed 4-3 until the 9:11 mark of the second half when Kaki Orr (So., Darien, Conn.) converted a Lena Zentgraf (Jr., Charlottesville, Va.) pass to tie the game at 4-4.
Stanford would forge ahead 11 minutes later when Megan McClain scored at the 20:16 mark. Foote answered back with her second goal of the game less than two minutes later to tie the game at 5-5 at the 22:10 mark.
Play would go back and forth until the final minute when Pantano was able to beat Dixon from the left side of the goal at the 29:42 mark. After a Notre Dame timeout, the Irish controlled the draw but turned the ball over with eight seconds left. From there, the Cardinal was able to run out the clock for the 6-5 victory.
Notre Dame closes out its current five-game homestand next Saturday, April 16 when the Irish play host to fourth-ranked Georgetown in a 1:00 p.m. game at Moose Krause Stadium.
Game Summary: 1 2 - FStanford (7-5) 4 2 - 6Notre Dame (3-8) 3 2 - 5
SCORINGSTANFORD:GOALS: Megan Burker, Sarah Bach, Nina Pantano, Megan McClain, Liz Piselli, Kelsey Twist.ASSISTS: None.
NOTRE DAME:GOALS: Crysti Foote (2), Brittany Fox, Jackie Bowers, Kaki Orr.ASSISTS: Crysti Foote (2), Lena Zentgraf, Caitlin McKinney.
First Half ScoringTeam Time Score Goal AssistSTAN 1:34 0-1 Liz PiselliND 5:27 1-1 Jackie Bowers Crysti FooteND 13:39 2-1 Crysti Foote Caitlin McKinneySTAN 18:01 * 2-2 Kelsey Twist Free-position shotSTAN 19:08 2-3 Megan BurkerND 19:35 3-3 Brittany Fox Crysti Foote (2)STAN 23:28 * 3-4 Sarah Bach Free-position shot
Second Half ScoringTeam Time Score Goal AssistND 9:11 4-4 Kaki Orr Lena ZentgrafSTAN 20:16 4-5 Megan McClainND 22:10 5-5 Crysti Foote (2)STAN 29:42 5-6 Nina Pantano
* denotes free position goal
GoalkeepersSTANFORD: Laura Shane (60:00 min; 5 goals against, 14 saves)ND: Carol Dixon (60:00 min; 6 goals against; 7 saves)
Shots On Goal: STAN - 19; ND - 26
Ground balls: STAN - 20; ND - 28
Draw Controls: STAN - 6; ND - 8
Caused Turnovers: STAN - 3; ND - 10