Davidson Comeback Comes Up Short in 4-2 Loss to Stanford in NorPac Tournament Opener

Thursday, November 6

Farmville, Va.

3:30

Davidson College Athletics

Stanford

Davidson Comeback Comes Up Short in 4-2 Loss to Stanford in NorPac Tournament Opener

11/6/2008 5:41:55 PM | Field Hockey

By: Matt Harris - Assistant SID

Box Score

FARMVILLE, VA. - After allowing three first-half goals, the Davidson field hockey team mounted a comeback attempt behind a pair of goals from senior Sarah Addison but fell just short, dropping a 4-2 decision to the second-seeded Stanford Cardinal in the opening round of the 2008 NorPac Tournament on Thursday evening in Farmville, Va.

Trailing by three goals, the Davidson comeback got started at the 8:35 mark of the second half when Addison recorded her first score of the year, a point-blank shot from the middle of the goal area that was set up by freshman Kathelijn van der Ven's drive down the right side of the field where she drew the Stanford defense to her, then dropped the ball to Addison for the score.

Then, just five minutes after her first goal, Addison struck again, on an almost identical play in which she gathered a pass from van der Ven in the middle of the circle and fired a laser shot into the right hand corner of the net to pull the 'Cats within one, 3-2.

Van der ven was credited with the assist, her second of the game and team-leading eighth of the year, which also ties her with teammate Britti Himelfarb for the school record for assists in a single season.

Stanford struck first when Camille Gandhi collected a penalty corner pass at the top of the circle and fired a low shot into the left-hand corner just past a diving Christa Goeke to put the Cardinal up, 1-0, at the 5:28 mark of the first half.

With seven minutes remaining in the half, the Cardinal were able to put in their second goal, which came after a pair of shots were saved by Goeke and bounced back into the field of play, where the third attempt, taken by Stanford's Midori Uehara from two yards out, found the back of the net. They then went up by three on another penalty-corner score at the 2:58 mark.

Despite the three-goal deficit, Davidson was able to put together a number of quality scoring chances in the first half, including a penalty-corner attempt with four minutes remaining in the frame that was deflected by a Stanford defender. Then in the final 20 seconds of the half, senior Sara Stevens fired a shot attempt off a penalty corner that was knocked away by the outstretched stick of a Cardinal defender and out of play.

Sophomore Clare Perry helped get the Davidson offense rolling in the second half when she fired an shot attempt off a penalty corner play that made its way to the Standford goalkeeper, who just got a foot on the ball enough to deflect it out of danger.

Van der Ven, who was named to the NorPac All-Conference team on Wednesday, nearly knocked in a goal mid-way through the second half when she took a shot from just inside the circle that looked to be heading over a diving Stanford goalkeeper, but at the last minute the 'keeper threw up her left foot for the save.

After they scratched the scoreboard for the first time, the Davidson offense came alive, recording three penalty corners and firing three shots in the next four minutes of play, and dominating possession, not allowing the ball to cross mid-field for six minutes.

The Cardinal closed out the victory with a goal in the final 10 seconds of regulation off a late penalty corner, pushing the score to the final of 4-2.

For the game, Goeke recorded six saves, giving her 74 on the season and bringing her career total to 250, good for fifth place on the school record books for career saves, just five back of the fourth-place spot.

The 'Cats will now face off against Appalachian State, who fell 3-0 to Pacific in their opening-round contest, on Friday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. in an elimination game, with the winner taking on Radford in the fifth-place game on Saturday.