Ducks Open Season Against Stanford
This Week: The Ducks (0-0, 0-0) open their third season facing an all too familiar opponent, the defending Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference champion Stanford Cardinal (0-0, 0-0). This will mark the third season in a row that the Ducks have opened the year against the Cardinal, including the inaugural match in the program’s history at Pape’ Field in 2004.
Season Preview: Coming off of their first winning season as a program and a third place finish in the MPSF tournament after an emotional upset of the California Golden Bears in the MPSF Tournament, the Ducks hope that the hard work and dedication put into two seasons have made them grow as a team. Those freshman who joined the program at its inception are now upperclassmen and those talented freshman are also now a year older.
To compliment the leadership styles of her juniors, head coach Jen Larsen has brought in former University of North Carolina standout Brooke Dieringer (pronounced Dair-ing-er) who had 29 goals and six assists for a Tar Heel team that reached the NCAA tournament quarterfinals in 2006.
“The leadership on this team is strong since these girls have played together for two complete seasons now,” Larsen said. “We have a really good core of players that should be exciting to watch.”
The experience is noticeable throughout the lineup, as every unit is led by an experienced junior group and bolstered by a strong sophomore compliment.
The attack will be led by junior Jana Bradley and sophomore Ilsa van den Berg, who combined for 65 goals and 18 assists a year ago. They will be complimented by juniors Jenny Browne, Theresa Waldron, and Lindsay Killian.
The midfield is anchored by junior Jen May (28 goals, 15 assists) and Dieringer as the unit as a whole must control the pace of the game and keep the units on the field fluid. The Ducks also return their leading assist and point scorer in Alison Leiner (33 assists, 58 total points) to the midfield.
The defense will look to juniors Carrie Bateman and Liora Lobel for leadership as they look to fly around the field and keep teams from gaining any momentum. Bateman collected a team-high 59 ground balls last year as well as causing a team-high 34 turnovers. Lobel will be pressed into action and expected to step up, due to the injury of Laura Lynch.
Goal keeping seemed to be becoming a strength for the Ducks in the conference tournament as Anna Poponyak made 12 saves in the third place game against California, including one with 30 seconds remaining that would have tied the game. Poponyak returns for her redshirt sophomore campaign as the probable starter, but will be pressed by freshman Sam Debow.
Scouting Stanford: The Cardinal made history last year, using a second straight MPSF title to propel itself into the NCAA Tournament, becoming the first team from west of the Mississippi to break into the field.
Stanford has posted an impressive 72-36 (.667) mark under seventh year head coach Michele Uhlfelder and has dominated the MPSF, with a 43-2 (.956) record against conference opponents.
Of the team’s six losses in 2006, four were to Final Four teams, including two to the eventual National Champion.
The Cardinal attack will likely be the most seasoned unit on the field in 2007, but will need to step up and fill vacancies left by two of last year’s top scorers: Megan Burker and Sarah Bach.
Senior Liz Piselli will lead a young Stanford midfield in 2007, as she returns for her third year in the starting lineup. Last season, Piselli was the team’s fourth-leading scorer with 28 goals and 41 points. She was second on the team with 13 assists and brings valuable scoring experience to the Cardinal lineup.
One of three returning All-Conference honorees, Piselli will be a primary leader for the squad this season.
The Stanford defense is anchored by junior Bri Ned, who was one of the top defenders in the conference last season, earning both All-MPSF and MPSF All-Tournament Team honors. As a sophomore, Ned started all 18 games and led the Cardinal defense in caused turnovers.
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