STANFORD, Calif. — UC Davis junior
Kendall Seifert netted a second-half hat trick en route to a career-high four goals, while senior
Sorana Larson added her fourth hat trick of the season, but the Aggies were unable to overtake No. 22 Stanford, falling to the Cardinal by a 16-9 score on Sunday afternoon at Maloney Field at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
UC Davis' unbeaten start came to an end as the Aggies fell to 3-1 overall on the year, posting their smallest margin of defeat since a 13-6 decision on April 17, 2016.
Led by eight goals on 11 shots from Ali Baiocco, Stanford won its season opener.
Seifert's hat trick was her third of the season, bending the back of the net four times on six shot attempts, adding a ground ball. Larson finished with three more goals to bring her season total to a season-high 18 scores, adding a team-high nine shot attempts and a pair of ground balls.
Seniors
Kaley Stunz and
Maddie Myers also scored a goal, with Myers adding six ground balls, three draw controls, and a caused turnover, while senior
Kate Graham added six more ground balls and seven draw controls.
Between the pipes, goalkeeper
Taylor Mathieson finished with 10 saves and eight ground balls — the latter tied for the sixth-most in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation history for a single match and the most since USC's Gussie Johns finished with nine on April 30, 2017.
Sporting an offense that ranked among the nation's best entering the week, the Aggies jumped out quickly against their hosts with scores from Myers and Larson for a 2-0 lead just three minutes in.
The Cardinal, however, answered quickly, exploding for six straight goals before Seifert and Larson stopped the bleeding with scores of their own. Stanford answered with the final three goals of the first half for a 9-4 advantage, part of an 8-0 run that saw the Cardinal tack on five straight to start the second period.
UC Davis began to claw its way back as Stunz, Larson, and Seifert, scored three straight to make it 14-7, and Seifert closed out the contest with a pair in the final five minutes to cap the scoring.
A run of seven consecutive road contests continues in Southern California next weekend as the Aggies take on MPSF rival San Diego State in a non-conference contest on Friday (March 5) at 1 p.m., before taking on No. 15 USC on Sunday (March 7) at 3 p.m.
NCAA WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Feb. 28, 2021 • Stanford Stadium • Stanford, Calif.
SCORE BY PERIOD 1 2 Tot
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UC Davis............ 4 5 - 9
Stanford............ 9 7 - 16
UC Davis SCORING: GOALS: Seifert, Kendall 4; Larson, Sorana 3; Stunz, Kaley 1; Myers, Maddie 1. ASSISTS: Duffy, Erin 1; Graham, Kate 1; Stunz, Kaley 1; Wilson, Natalie 1.
Stanford SCORING: GOALS: Baiocco, Ali 8; Watson, Mikaela 3; Browne, Jay 2; Kelly, Ailish 1; Lew, Galen 1; Griffith, Anna 1. ASSISTS: Baiocco, Ali 1; Browne, Jay 1; Gilbert, Katy 1.
SHOTS - UC Davis 26; Stanford 40.
SHOTS ON GOAL - UC Davis 15; Stanford 30.
GOALIES - UCD: Laing, Ashley (13:25 minutes, 4 shots-4 saves, 0 GA), Mathieson, Taylor 3-1 (46:35, 26-10, 16); STAN: Grattan, Trudie (30:00, 8-3, 5) , Rahaim, Kara 1-0 (30:00, 7-3, 4).
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Over 700 student-athletes across 25 intercollegiate athletics teams, following the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation.
Centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and the Napa Valley, UC Davis is known nationwide as a leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, ranks annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
UC Davis is uncommonly committed to preparing student-athletes for life after graduation with Aggie EVO — an innovative student-athlete outcomes program that helps young women and men develop passions, gain real-world experience, and enjoy a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school. Through Aggie EVO, Intercollegiate Athletics provides unmatched resources and a vast network of working professionals to ensure post-graduation success for its student-athletes.
