SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Four Stanford players posted hat tricks Sunday as the third-ranked Cardinal rolled to a 21-7 road victory at No. 13 UC San Diego.
Eleven different players found the back of the cage for the Cardinal (14-1), which was victorious in its return from a two-week layoff due to final exams. Sophomore Maggie Steffens led the way with four goals while Ashley Grossman, Kiley Neushul and Anna Yelizarova each scored thrice.
Stanford jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening period, as Neushul scored twice and Grossman, Steffens and Yelizarova each added goals. Jolene Guilana got the Tritons on the board in the final minute of the frame, and Julia Kirkland added another to make it 5-2 early in the second period.
Steffens shut down any hope of a comeback, however, scoring three goals during a span of 2:09 to put the Cardinal in front 8-2. Yelizarova and Annika Dries would score before the break as Stanford took a 10-2 lead into halftime.
Jamie Neushul scored the first goal of the second half as the Cardinal went on to score six times in the third period to put things away. The Cardinal offense remained hot to the end, scoring five more goals in the fourth period.
