Stanford rolled through Carleton on their way to a rematch with Oregon in the final.
May 25, 2015 by Liz Gates in News, Recap with 0 comments
Stanford and Carleton traded points early in the National semifinals before Superfly pulled away at the end of the first half and stayed out in front until the end, closing it out 15-8. Second seeded Stanford entered the game a heavy favorite and proved the prevailing theory right.
The first half was filled with turnovers and both teams had multiple breaks, but Stanford held Carleton to just two points in the second half. Carleton began with a layout block early in Stanford’s possession by Nami Sumida, leading to an easy break for Syzygy. The overcast weather was mostly disregarded by both teams, but the rain did affect throws when it started coming down.
Carleton, surprisingly, had the more aggressive offense throughout this game. Stanford’s zone forced them to reconsider their strategy, and their choice was to send long cross field throws over the Superfly defenders. Sometimes this worked, but other times it gave Stanford looks at critical breaks.
Carleton’s Emily Buckner was heavily involved for Carleton, despite usually being guarded by Michela Meister. She saved multiple possessions with her catches and finished four goals and one assist. Lucia Childs-Walker had just two assists, but contributed more than the stats show, shouldering the load of numerous touches against top defenders. Syzygy’s efficient defense earned them chances for breaks, but their offense just couldn’t connect well. Unfortunate turns in the second half gave Stanford excellent field position, and were a large reason why Carleton fell to Superfly.
Monisha White played to her talent, launching plenty of hucks downfield, but with a sad lack of completions. She was 2 out of 7 on her deep throws, but other Stanford players stepped up and found receivers in the endzone. Meister, Halsey Hoster, and Stephanie Lim all had great games; Meister had three goals and two assists as well as multiple blocks on defense.
In the second half they exclusively threw their zone and slowed down Syzygy’s defenders, with the four man cup forcing them to take the over the top option and often times putting the disc into the hands of a waiting defender or left it hanging in the air in a 50/50. Their other zone option was just as successful, and Coach Jamie Nuwer was happy with how their decision turned out.
“We played a box and one on Lucia Childs-Walker, which ended up being really successful strategy for us deeper into the game, so I think that that just took Carleton out of their offense,” said Nuwer.
While this caused the turns they needed, in the end their ability to convert Carleton’s mistakes into breaks propelled them to the seven point lead and the win.
Stanford Superfly now advances to take on Oregon in the final everyone has been waiting for since the two teams began torching opponents over the past three days.
