Best of the West No Longer Good Enough for Stanford

Sun Jan 20 2019 | Megan Miller | College

PHOTO COURTESY OF STANFORD ATHLETICS

Ali Baiocco, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, is an integral part of Stanford's youth movement.



US Lacrosse Magazine released the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Preseason Top 20 on Jan. 2. Team-by-team previews will be unveiled on uslaxmagazine.com through the end of the month and will also appear as part of the magazine’s NCAA preview edition in February. Don’t get the mag? Join US Lacrosse today to start your subscription. No. 15 Stanford 2018 Record: 15-5 (8-2 Pac-12)

Coach: Amy Bokker (11th year) All-Time Record: 272-131

NCAA Appearances: 8

Final Fours: 0

Championships: 0 Kara Mupo has experienced two national championships. Stanford has won zero. The Northwestern graduate was named an assistant for the Cardinal in August, bringing with her a championship mindset. As offensive coordinator, she took over an attack that led the Pac-12 in goals, assists and points. “She is a really hard worker, shooter and finisher herself,” Stanford coach Amy Bokker said of Mupo, who played for the inaugural WPLL championship team, the New England Command, over the summer. “She led the WPLL in scoring. That’s really exciting for our players to watch her when she plays, but also learn from her. She has a lot of creativity. She’s out there giving them so many pointers.” Mupo’s familiarity with postseason excellence will boost a team that also won an inaugural championship, but has yet to advance past the second round in the NCAA tournament. In 2018, Stanford claimed the first-ever Pac-12 title with a 15-6 rout of Colorado in Colorado, but then dropped 12-3 decision to Virginia in the NCAA first round, hosted by eventual national champion James Madison. “We really reflected and learned the difference in how do we stay competitive and how do we stay engaged in that break period,” Bokker said. “They’ve reflected a lot on their accountability and responsibility going into the postseason.” Since the early 1990s, Stanford has been a member of four different conferences, experiencing success in all of them. It won five championships in the Western Women’s Lacrosse League, two in the Mountain Pacific Lacrosse League, nine in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and most recently, the first one in the Pac-12 – totaling 17 crowns in 24 years. The Cardinal has continued the title trend, but now needs to take that to the national stage. “Now being in the Pac-12, we feel relevant in that way on the West Coast,” Bokker said. “We’re really excited the Pac-12 has made the commitment to pick up women’s lacrosse and it’s done a lot for the growth of our sport. For us, it’s build off that tradition, but we don’t want to just be competitive in the West. We want to be competitive all across the country.” That means beating the best. Stanford has circled Denver on its calendar, which is its season opener. It has lost to the Pioneers two years in a row. It has also highlighted reigning America East champion Stony Brook, its first trip East. “We’re excited to go play at Stony Brook for sure,” Bokker said. “For us, we have to get out east and show well when we do that. We have to be prepared.” While the sport is growing, wins in the East for teams of the West still validate those programs. “We want to take our team further in the NCAA tournament,” Bokker said. “That’s something we’re striving to do and possibly host a game out here at Stanford.”

The Case For Stanford

Stanford has proven it can bounce back from a loss when it won the first-ever Pac-12 championship over top-seeded Colorado. It returns the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, attacker Ali Baiocco, and two all-conference first team honorees, defender Julia Massaro and midfielder Daniella McMahon, who led the team with 86 draw controls and 28 caused turnovers, respectively. McMahon anchors a draw team that Bokker said is one of the team’s top strengths in 2019, while Massaro is a part of a “seasoned” unit that boasts speed and plays aggressively. Stanford ranked in the top 10 nationally in both scoring defense and ground balls. “I think we stack up pretty well within our conference defensively,” said Bokker.

The Case Against Stanford

Stanford graduated nine seniors, including goals and assists leader Kelsey Murray and starting goalie Allie DaCar. This year, of the four-member senior class, only two – Julia Massaro and Areta Buness – are true seniors with the others having a redshirt year. If the younger players don’t step up, the Cardinal may struggle and miss the postseason. “Our youth plays into it a little bit,” Bokker said. “Stepping up with younger players, and how they’re going to perform, is going to be key for us.” The goalie situation is also in flux. Freshman Julia Cooper and sophomore Trudie Grattan are battling for the position, but no frontrunner has emerged. They split time in the fall.

Path to the Playoffs

After falling twice to Colorado in the regular season for its only in-conference losses, Stanford rallied for the Pac-12 title, escaping USC and then dominating Colorado for the inaugural crown. However, nearly two weeks later, the Cardinal dropped its NCAA tournament game to Virginia by a nine-goal margin. The path to the playoffs starts with reversing the losing trend to start the season. Stanford had back-to-back losses to begin 2018 against Denver and Stony Brook, with the loss to the Pioneers marking the Cardinal’s second in back-to-back competition years. “We open with Denver Feb. 8 at home,” Bokker said. “The team has that marked.” They then travel to play Stony Brook and Albany.

Players To Watch

Ali Baiocco, A, So.

48G, 14A

With the graduation of leading scorer Kelsey Murray, Baiocco will have a leadership role to fill, as well as a stat line. She finished second behind Murray in goals and points last year, earning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors.

Maggie Bellaschi, D, Fr.

Of the 10-member freshman class, Bellaschi will likely be the only freshman to have a standing spot in the starting lineup after performing well in the fall. With only two true seniors, the team will rely on its youth. Bellaschi was a US Lacrosse All-American defender in high school.

Genesis Lucero, M, Sr.

67 DC, 6 GB

While she doesn’t rack up the stats on offense or defense, Lucero’s impact is made in the midfield. She leads one of Stanford’s biggest strengths in the draw team and is helping improve its speed in transition and ability to fast break between the lines.

National Rankings

Category Rank Value Offense 14th 15.15/game Defense 8th 9.40/game Draws 16th 15.00/game Ground Balls 9th 21.55/game Caused TO 46th 8.85/game Shooting 38th 43.6% FP Shooting 39th 43.9% Yellow Cards 85th 22

Power Ratings (Scale of 1-5)

Offense

⭐⭐⭐

Defense

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goalkeeping

⭐⭐

Draw

⭐⭐⭐⭐

35.97

Percent of scoring lost from the graduated Kelsey Murray, Maggie Nick and Dillon Schoen, who all finished with double-digit marks and combined for 109 of 303 Stanford goals. “We’re really looking to see how we can continue to put the ball in the back of the net and account for all those goals we lost,” Bokker said.

5-Year Trend

Scoring Offense (GPG)

Year Rank Per Game 2014 11th 13.53 2015 1st 16.00 2016 13th 12.65 2017 12th 14.94 2018 14th 15.15

Coach Confidential

Amy Bokker

“Success is being able to play as a unit, staying committed to one another and trusting one another on the field.”

Enemy Lines

“Strong West Coast presence. Solid midfield, good between the 30s. Well coached and poised. Who will be leader on both ends?“