The DU women’s lacrosse team went 2-0 on their non-conference California road trip, defeating the University of California, Berkeley 15-5 on Feb. 10 and No. 12 ranked Stanford University 10-7 on Feb. 12.
Despite going down 1-0 early against California, Denver would rally to post a commanding 5-1 lead at halftime. DU received first half goals from five different players, including a goal and an assist from junior midfield Katherine Fischer (Upper Nyack, New York).
California would once again open up the scoring in the second half, but Denver would quickly answer with three goals of their own. Helping to extend the lead to 8-2 was Fischer and sophomore midfield Kendra Lanuza (Littleton, Colorado), each posting their second of the game.
California midfield and Denver native Caroline Schlegel scored one of her two goals to put Cal back within five, but it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback.
DU sophomore midfield Elizabeth Behrins (Basking Ridge, New Jersey) caught fire late in the game, scoring a hat-trick in the game’s final 13:02.
Returning senior goalkeeper Maddy Stevenson (Bainbridge Island, Washington) made nine saves, including two in the second half, to secure the 15-5 win for the Pioneers.
The team’s second game of the weekend saw the Pioneers play the underdog card, going up against No. 12 ranked Stanford. Scoring five of the game’s first six goals, Denver was able to stifle a Cardinal comeback en route to a 10-7 win.
Once again, Stevenson brought her A-game in net for the Pioneers. Her incredible, 16-save performance set a career-high, while she also added four ground balls in the effort.
Again turning in a marquee performance, Lanuza tore up the Stanford defense for three goals by the 18:37 mark, giving Denver a 5-1 lead. She would finish with four goals on four shots, including going one-for-one on free position shots.
Stanford didn’t go lightly in this match, fighting back to a score of 5-7 at halftime, trailing the Pioneers by only two. A goal with only 23 seconds left in the frame helped the Cardinal’s momentum heading into a pressure-packed second half.
Denver would rely on sophomore midfield Julia Feiss (Baltimore, Maryland) to extend their lead, which she accomplished only 50 seconds into the second half, upping the advantage to 8-5. Her second goal of the game, Feiss would add one more for the hat-trick later to advance the score to 10-6.
Stanford scored one more goal to come within three, but then Stevenson shut the door. Making six saves between Stanford’s final goal at 15:01 and the final whistle, her sparkling performance led Denver to a road victory over one of the top women’s lacrosse programs in the country, 10-7.
As a result of their successful weekend, the team was ranked No. 19 on the Cascade Women’s Division I Media Poll and No. 16 in the U.S. Lacrosse Magazine Poll. It’s the Pioneers’ first time being ranked since receiving the No. 20 spot in the coaches and media polls on Feb. 23, 2015.
Denver improved to 3-0 on the season with the two victories and have not yet begun conference play. Their next match-up will be at home on Feb. 18 against the University of Louisville.
