Stockton, Calif. – Pacific Field Hockey continued its conference slate with a contest against No. 14 Stanford, and despite a scoreless first half, the Cardinal pulled away to take a 4-1 victory.

The win improved Stanford to 9-4 and 3-0 in NorPac Conference play, while the loss dropped Pacific to 4-9 and 0-2 in the league.

The scoreless first half was due in large part to Pacific senior Ashlee Schlesier and the Tigers defense. The goalkeeper tallied six saves in the first half to bring her saves total to 46 on the season. Also, helping Schlesier was senior defender Emily Trudeau who recorded her Pacific career best 22nd defensive save and eighth of the season to keep the score tied at zero.

However, the defensive contributions throughout the full game could not be described in stats. The Tigers received excellent play on defense from Emily Tregoning, Doreen Stern, Hannah Bettencourt, Molly Bettencourt, Malia Robertson, Katelyn Tatar, Erica Gordon, Kelsey Gulledge and Maggie Grindatti

Despite holding strong, the Tigers allowed a pair of scores from Becky Dru and another from Maddie Secco in the first 20 minutes of the half to give the Cardinal a 3-0 advantage. 

The Tigers would not let the deficit discourage them as they continued to attack the Stanford keeper. Finally with just over 10 minutes left in the contest, the Tigers put one on the board with senior Jenna Vivian's fourth goal of the season. Paige Counsman dribbled the ball up the right side of the field and ripped a shot at the Cardinal keeper. After it was turned away Vivian corralled the rebound to put it to the back of the cage. The point for Counsman gave her a team-best 15 for the season.

After the score, Pacific pulled its keeper and the defense again shined. The Tigers defense turned away numerous chances including two incredible defensives saves by the senior Stern. The final was a shot ripped high at the cage, which Stern reached her stick up to deflect it away. However, Stanford's Courtney Haldeman would find the back of the empty net with three minutes left in the game to put the score at 4-1.

The Tigers will look to build on the strong effort as they take on NorPac Conference foe California in a home-and-home next weekend. The first contest at California is on Friday, October 12 at 7:00 p.m., followed by Pacific's Senior Day on Sunday, October 14 at 1:00 p.m. on Brookside Field.