Box Score (PDF)
 
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Cornell women's lacrosse raced out to an early lead and never looked back in a dominating 15-7 victory over nationally-ranked #13/9 Stanford on Tuesday evening at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. The win is the Big Red's first over a ranked opponent this season, while it pushes the squad to an 8-2 record on the season. It also lifted the Big Red to a sweep of its two-game West Coast swing through Northern California.
 
While the Big Red has been lurking on the periphery of the national discussion through the opening month and a half of the season, many of the national pundits still asked questions of the squad despite its strong 7-2 record. It's safe to say that Cornell answered those questions with flying colors on Tuesday, as it marched into Palo Alto and led wire-to-wire in an impressive lopsided victory over one of the best program's west of the Mississippi. The Big Red secured a signature win to add to an increasingly impressive resume, as the squad rolls into the meat of its schedule.
 
Junior attacker Emily Tripodi turned in the finest game of her career, netting a career-high seven points on three goals and four assists. It was the third time this season she collected four helpers, while the hat-trick was her second of the year. She now has already surpassed her previous career-high of 11 for goals in a season, as she now sits at 14 for the year.
 
Sophomore Catherine Ellis paced the squad in goal scoring with four goals, while she also added an assist. She also passed her previous career-high for goals in a season, now sitting at 26 for the year.
 
Senior co-captain Lindsay Toppe had a strong game as well, tallying two goals and one assist, while also creating wide spaces in the attacking zone for her teammates. Freshman Taylor Reed also added a pair of goals for her second multi-goal performance of her debut season.
 
Senior Sarah Hefner, sophomores Kristy Gilbert and Amie Dickson and freshman Joey Coffy each tallied one goal, while Dickson also finished with three assists. She was present all over the field, leading the squad with two caused turnovers and five draw controls, while also chipping in two ground balls.
 
While the offensive performance will garner the highlights, it was the Cornell (8-2) defense that impressed most on Tuesday. The Big Red held Stanford (5-2) – the third best offense in NCAA Division I at 16.33 goals per game – to just seven goals in the contest and only three goals in the second half. The talented and lightning quick Cardinal attackers found little room to maneuver in the attacking third, as the Big Red backline completely shrouded the defensive third.
 
The high intensity defensive effort was evident early-on, as Cornell repeatedly forced the issue in the defensive end. Senior Claire MacManus (four ground balls), junior co-captain Brittany Marriott (two ground balls), junior Maddie Kiep (one caused turnover) and sophomore Catie Smith (one ground ball; one caused turnover) had their collective game of the season. They forced the Cardinal into tough angle shots, while Stanford finished with 12 turnovers in the contest, mostly due to the pressure applied. MacManus led all players with her four ground balls.
 
Sophomore Renee Poullott played a strong game when shots did find their way through the smothering defense. She finished with five saves, including a pair of sparkling stops to maintain the momentum in the second half.
 
The Big Red raced out to an early 5-0 lead in the opening half, doing an excellent job of transitioning defense into offense. Dickson opened the scoring with nice shot that beat Stanford keeper Allie DaCar five-hole. After winning possession on turnover, Cornell worked the ball into the attacking third behind the Cardinal net to Tripodi. She threaded a pass through a tight window to Dickson who was streaking inside the eight-yard fan to break the ice.
 
After Ellis doubled the Cornell lead, Toppe pushed the lead to three six minutes later, as the Big Red again struck in transition. Dickson forced a turnover in the defensive third and quickly moved the ball up to Toppe who had a clear lane down field. She blazed down the left flank and fired a laser into the top of the net. Ellis and Reed would both add tallies to stretch the lead to 5-0 with 13:44 to play in the opening act.
 
Impressively, Cornell held the shutout for 21:05 to begin the game, until the powerful Cardinal finally got on the board when Kyle Fraser tallied on a short-side shot from the right side of the fan. The goal would spark a run for Stanford, as the home side would score four of the final five goals in the half to pull within two goals at the break.
 
Head Coach Jenny Graap did an excellent job to rally the team at halftime, as both the offense and defense came out flying in the second session. Tripodi netted her first of three just 56 seconds into the half, but Hannah Farr answered with her first of three goals in the second half just 50 seconds after the Tripodi goal to keep the Big Red within reach. It would not last for long.
 
Cornell filled the net with the next five – its second five-goal run of the contest – to run away with the victory. Reed started the run with a play belying her years, as she calmly saved possession, scooping a ground ball in traffic and in one motion quickly whipping it into the twine for her first man-up goal of the season.
 
Tripodi and Dickson executed nice goal off of a free-position just three minutes later, while Toppe weaved through two defenders to pump in her second of the contest to double-up Stanford at 10-5 with just under 20 minutes remaining. Gilbert and Hefner would add goals to close out the run and extend the lead.
 
With the lead well in hand, Stanford pressed for turnovers, extending its defense to the edges of the zone. Cornell remained poised with possession, executing a clinical passing display to eat clock and create scoring chances. Tripodi and Ellis both netted their hat-tricks over a three-goal run near the conclusion of the contest.
 
The victory over the Cardinal moves the Big Red to a 3-1 all-time record in Palo Alto, while the squad is 7-3 overall against the Western power.
 
Cornell will return east to resume Ivy League play this weekend. The Big Red will head to Hanover, N.H., for a 1 p.m. opening draw against Dartmouth. Cornell will look to maintain its perfect mark in League play with a win.