For the third straight year, No. 20 Stanford (12-8) defeated the No. 17 University of Denver women’s lacrosse team (13-6) in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship game, beating the Pioneers 9-8 Saturday in Berkeley, Calif.
DU sophomore Lexi Sanders (Cherry Creek High School) had a hat trick, but the star was Cardinal goalie Laura Shane, who made 17 saves and was named most valuable player. DU’s eight goals were six under its 14.4 season average.
Stanford had a 5-2 halftime lead and extended the lead with the first two tallies of the second half. Karen Morton, Tulley Stapp (Mullen High School) and Ali Flury scored to bring DU within one with 1:32 remaining, setting up Shane’s final heroics. She stopped a shot by Morton with nine seconds left.