By Amanda McLean on October 20, 2014

The No. 3 Stanford field hockey team (15-1, 2-0 NorPac West) continued its unprecedented nine-game winning streak against Pacific last Friday with an impressive 3-1 victory. Controlling play for most of the game, the Cardinal are now in possession of the best record in the nation.

Stanford out did the Tigers (4-9, 1-1 NorPac) in shots (19-6) and penalty corners (4-0) and has now won 17 consecutive games against Pacific.

Freshman Katie Keyser drew first blood at 28:38 when she dribbled the ball into the circle and drilled the ball into the corner of the net. Alex McCawley continued her prolific senior campaign, scoring twice in the second half. She leads all Stanford scorers with 12 goals on the season.

The first goal occurred just 43 seconds into the second half, when McCawley controlled a rebound and directed it into the back of the net. Pacific then briefly narrowed the score to 2-1 on a nice redirect by sophomore Nicole Laskovsky. Not content to let the scoring end there, McCawley scored her second goal four minutes later to give Stanford some breathing room.

The Cardinal led in all major statistical categories, holding advantages over Pacific in shots (19-6) and penalty corners (4-0). This victory marked Stanford’s 17th consecutive win against the Tigers.

Junior Maddie Secco had another dominant game, recording her team-leading seventh assist on McCawley’s second goal. Secco has had at least one assist in her past seven games, and her seven assists this season are a career high.

Coupled with a consistently strong offense, Stanford’s defense has continued to disrupt opposing teams’ rhythms and force turnovers. Stanford’s goaltending has also been exceptional, with junior Dulcie Davies making two saves, marking the 15th time this season that the Cardinal has held opponents to one or fewer goals.

All signs bode well for a deep run into the postseason. Stanford is currently carrying a program-best No. 3 ranking, earned after beating top-25 ranked Northwestern and Michigan last weekend.

The Cardinal will next play host to California at 2 p.m. on Friday at the Varsity Turf. The game against Cal will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks, and live stats will be available on GoStanford.com.

Contact Amanda McLean at ammclean ‘at’ stanford.edu.