No. 20 Stanford (9-6, 3-1 NorPac) saw mixed results this past weekend as it traveled to the other side of the country, playing three matches in four days against a trio of East Coast teams. Despite a strong offensive effort, the Cardinal finished its East Coast tour with one win and two losses, with both defeats coming in overtime.

The weekend began with the Cardinal taking on No. 8 Syracuse (10-4) on Friday morning in Albany, N.Y. In a highly contested match, Stanford took a 1-0 lead after the first half, with a goal by sophomore defender Becky Dru off a stop by junior forward Stephanie Byrne and a push by sophomore forward Kelsey Lloyd. With seven penalty corners and six shots, Syracuse was unable to notch any goals on the Card in the first half.

But Syracuse would strike back in the final minutes of the second half, equalizing the score at one point apiece off a penalty corner shot by Syracuse attacker Amy Kee in the 60th minute of play. The Orange would go on to win the match, 2-1, in overtime.

The loss on Friday snapped a three-game winning streak for the Cardinal. Furthermore, the loss also broke a seven-game string of overtime victories for Stanford, with the team’s last overtime defeat coming more than two years ago.

Although Stanford outshot Syracuse 17-12, a total of six saves by Syracuse goalkeeper Rachel Sayer kept the Cardinal offense in check. Syracuse also held a 12-7 advantage in penalty corners.

The Cardinal squad was able to rebound in its next game against a struggling Rutgers (6-10) team on Sunday. Stanford took an early 1-0 lead in the first period when a deflected shot by sophomore forward Katie Mitchell found its way to the back of the net for her first goal of the season. Coming off the bench in the second half, senior forward Katherine Swank sealed Stanford’s victory by putting up a goal in the 40th minute, giving the Cardinal a 2-0 lead. Despite a goal by Rutgers’ Kat Rodziewicz in the 60th minute, Swank would score once again moments later off of an assist by Dru to ensure a Stanford win.

The Cardinal once again outshot its opponents, with an 11-7 shot advantage and a 5-2 edge in penalty corners. Junior goalkeeper Alessandra Moss held the Scarlet Knights to only one goal in the 3-1 Cardinal victory and came out of the match with six saves.

However, the difficulty of playing three road games in four days showed in the final match against Northeastern in Boston, just one day after the Cardinal played Rutgers. In a very physical contest, the Northeastern defense refused to yield to Stanford’s offensive efforts, keeping the Cardinal scoreless in the first half of play despite being outshot 14-5 in the opening period. Stanford would score early in the second half on a penalty corner converted by Dru, again assisted by Byrne and Lloyd.

But once more, Stanford let its opponents score late in the game. A shot by Northeastern’s Crystal Poland tied the score in the 57th minute and pushed the match into overtime, where a quick goal by Nicky Graham ended the game for a 2-1 Northeastern victory. It also gave Stanford its second overtime loss of the season.

While Stanford maintained a staggering 25-15 edge in shots and an 8-4 advantage in penalty corners, Northeastern goalkeeper Lizzie Priest had 13 saves in comparison to just seven for Stanford’s Moss.

The Cardinal has outshot its opponents in 12 of the 14 games it has played this season, but has had difficulty coming out on top in close matches, with all five of its losses marked by one-point margins.

Stanford’s next game will be a conference match against Pacific (2-11) this Sunday at 1 p.m. on Varsity Turf. It will be Stanford’s last home game of the season.