Defense ruled the day in No. 17 Stanford’s (5-4, 1-0 America East) 1-0 victory over UC Davis (3-7, 0-1). In contrast to the Cardinal’s regular season blowout of the Aggies last year, this was a game marked by a low scoreline despite many offensive chances for Stanford.

The Cardinal came out quickly in the first half, taking control and outshooting the Aggies by a margin of 4-1. UC Davis had to come up with some key defensive plays and saves to stop Stanford from putting any numbers on the board, with the Cardinal having three scoring chances in the first half alone.

The second half opened at a similar pace, as Stanford quickly notched 2 shots but was unable to find the back of the net. The second half saw 9 total shots and 4 penalty corners form the Cardinal, but the Aggies still held strong at a 0-0 tie.

In overtime, junior goalkeeper and captain Beth Lee again proved to be a key player, making 3 saves in the first overtime period to push the standoff to a second overtime period.

Stanford finally broke through in the second when freshman Nina Randolph notched the second goal of her Stanford career on a one-handed touch up to the top left corner of the cage off of an assist by junior Sarah Helgeson in the 91st minute.

After the win, coach Tara Danielson was happy with many aspects of the team’s play.

“The team moved the ball well today and created solid goal scoring opportunities throughout the game. We need to clean it up in the attacking D and finish the play,” she said.

Next up for the Cardinal is more conference play, as they travel to Cal on Friday before hosting Pacific on Sunday.

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