May 6, 2007

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - Living up to her status as a two-time Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year, senior midfielder Kristie Leggio (Bay Shore, N.Y.) had six goals and three assists, but it wasn't enough as Stanford knocked off top-seeded Denver in the MPSF Championship Finals, 12-11.

 

With Stanford leading by four goals with 2:21 remaining in the game, the Pioneers tried to mount a comeback with a flurry of three goals, but the Cardinal held on over the final 1:11 to seal the victory.

 

Denver (16-3) had beaten the Cardinal (9-8) on April 6 for the first time since 2000, but Stanford got its revenge by beating DU in the Finals for the second-straight year and claiming its third MPSF Championship in a row.

 

The Pioneers struck first with Leggio scoring just over five minutes into the contest, but Stanford's Lauren Schmidt scored a pair to claim the lead.

 

Sophomore midfielder Karen Morton (Adelaide, Australia) tied it with 19:15 to go in the half.

 

After the Cardinal scored a pair over the next four minutes, Leggio and Morton responded with a goal each, tying the game again.

 

However, two goals by Liz Piselli sent Stanford into the half with a 6-4 lead.

 

The Cardinal started the second half strong with four unanswered goals in the first 11 minutes.

 

The Pioneers countered with two by Leggio and one each by freshmen Ali Flury (Arnold, Md.) and Lexi Sanders (Greenwood Village, Colo.).

 

Stanford extended its lead to four with less than five minutes remaining, when Claire Hubbard and Daphne Patterson scored within 44 seconds of one another.

 

Leggio scored twice, and Morton added one more to inch within one with 1:11 remaining.

 

Denver entered the MPSF Championship with the second-best scoring margin in the country, winning by an average of 7.18 goals per game. However, both of DU's games this weekend were decided by a single goal.

 

Leggio's nine points is tied for the fifth-best single-game total in DU history. Leggio holds the top-three spots on that list.

 

Leggio, Morton and junior Kelly O'Connell (Baltimore, Md.) were all named to the 2007 MPSF Women's Lacrosse All-Tournament Team.

 

The Pioneers return home to await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field. Because the MPSF does not have an automatic bid, the Pioneers would have to be selected as one of the eight at-large team in the 16-team field.

 

According to the Tournament Selection  Index (TSI) which attempts to guess the factors the committee uses to select teams, Denver was ranked 17th entering the MPSF Championship Finals. The Pioneers have never played in the NCAA Tournament.

 

The 2007 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship bracket will be announced exclusively via a selection show webcast at ncaasports.com on Monday, May 7 at 6 p.m. MT.