[SearchingForTheTruth]

I think it is all geography.

If Virginia had a winning record, it would probably have made the tournament. The sixth ACC team.

Notre Dame was on the bubble with an RPI of 30. USF has an RPI of 17, but they lost to JMU in their conference final. If Florida had beat Colorado, then Florida would have hosted and then USF would have bussed to Gainesville along with Jacksonville. But Colorado beats Florida, so in order to minimize flights Notre Dame busses to Evansville and USF is left out of the at large bids. No at larger team with an RPI of less than 21 has ever been left out of the tournament until this year.

Just my opinion.

Six out of 13 ACC teams, including BC, made the field of 29. That seems like a pretty good showing to me. SFTT, maybe it was the committee's way of making up for the Stanford-Syracuse dilemma?

[SearchingForTheTruth]

I think it is all geography.

If Virginia had a winning record, it would probably have made the tournament. The sixth ACC team.

Notre Dame was on the bubble with an RPI of 30. USF has an RPI of 17, but they lost to JMU in their conference final. If Florida had beat Colorado, then Florida would have hosted and then USF would have bussed to Gainesville along with Jacksonville. But Colorado beats Florida, so in order to minimize flights Notre Dame busses to Evansville and USF is left out of the at large bids. No at larger team with an RPI of less than 21 has ever been left out of the tournament until this year.

Just my opinion.

Six out of 13 ACC teams, including BC, made the field of 29. That seems like a pretty good showing to me. SFTT, maybe it was the committee's way of making up for the Stanford-Syracuse dilemma?

[Papa John]

I think it is all geography.

If Virginia had a winning record, it would probably have made the tournament. The sixth ACC team.

Notre Dame was on the bubble with an RPI of 30. USF has an RPI of 17, but they lost to JMU in their conference final. If Florida had beat Colorado, then Florida would have hosted and then USF would have bussed to Gainesville along with Jacksonville. But Colorado beats Florida, so in order to minimize flights Notre Dame busses to Evansville and USF is left out of the at large bids. No at larger team with an RPI of less than 21 has ever been left out of the tournament until this year.

Just my opinion.

Well, I don't have enough knowledge to form an opinion :-)

[Papa John]

I think it is all geography.

If Virginia had a winning record, it would probably have made the tournament. The sixth ACC team.

Notre Dame was on the bubble with an RPI of 30. USF has an RPI of 17, but they lost to JMU in their conference final. If Florida had beat Colorado, then Florida would have hosted and then USF would have bussed to Gainesville along with Jacksonville. But Colorado beats Florida, so in order to minimize flights Notre Dame busses to Evansville and USF is left out of the at large bids. No at larger team with an RPI of less than 21 has ever been left out of the tournament until this year.

Just my opinion.

Well, I don't have enough knowledge to form an opinion :-)

[Bruce Wang]

https://gostanford.com/news/2026/05/7/fo...-americans

First Team: Kate Bellissimo Defense 5th Year Senior
Third Team: Aliya Polisky Attack Redshirt Junior

Honorable Mentions: Annabel Frist Middie 5th Year Senior, Jordyn Case Middie 5th Year Senior

Reminder that Stanford plays Penn State Friday May 8 3PM Pacific/6PM Eastern ESPN+

If you haven't seen the game, let me quote Pultizer Prize winner John McPhee "Of these five games [lacrosse, soccer, basketball, hockey, and water polo]—with their picks and screens, their fast breaks and rotational defenses, their high degree of continuous
motion—water polo, in its sluggish medium, is surely the most awkward, and lacrosse, at the other extreme, creates the fastest and crispest accumulation of passes and is the prettiest to watch."  This is particularly true of the women's game.

[Bruce Wang]

https://gostanford.com/news/2026/05/7/fo...-americans

First Team: Kate Bellissimo Defense 5th Year Senior
Third Team: Aliya Polisky Attack Redshirt Junior

Honorable Mentions: Annabel Frist Middie 5th Year Senior, Jordyn Case Middie 5th Year Senior

Reminder that Stanford plays Penn State Friday May 8 3PM Pacific/6PM Eastern ESPN+

If you haven't seen the game, let me quote Pultizer Prize winner John McPhee "Of these five games [lacrosse, soccer, basketball, hockey, and water polo]—with their picks and screens, their fast breaks and rotational defenses, their high degree of continuous
motion—water polo, in its sluggish medium, is surely the most awkward, and lacrosse, at the other extreme, creates the fastest and crispest accumulation of passes and is the prettiest to watch."  This is particularly true of the women's game.

[SearchingForTheTruth]

Thanks for the link. Record number of recipients. 

Kate Bellissimo had a fantastic year.

https://gostanford.com/news/2026/05/7/fo...-americans

First Team: Kate Beli Defense 5th Year Senior
Third Team: Aliya Polisky Attack Redshirt Junior

Honorable Mentions: Annabel Frist Middie 5th Year Senior, Jordyn Case Middie 5th Year Senior

Reminder that Stanford plays Penn State Friday May 8 3PM Pacific/6PM Eastern ESPN+

If you haven't seen the game, let me quote Pultizer Prize winner John McPhee "Of these five games [lacrosse, soccer, basketball, hockey, and water polo]—with their picks and screens, their fast breaks and rotational defenses, their high degree of continuous
motion—water polo, in its sluggish medium, is surely the most awkward, and lacrosse, at the other extreme, creates the fastest and crispest accumulation of passes and is the prettiest to watch."  This is particularly true of the women's game.

[SearchingForTheTruth]

Thanks for the link. Record number of recipients. 

Kate Bellissimo had a fantastic year.

https://gostanford.com/news/2026/05/7/fo...-americans

First Team: Kate Beli Defense 5th Year Senior
Third Team: Aliya Polisky Attack Redshirt Junior

Honorable Mentions: Annabel Frist Middie 5th Year Senior, Jordyn Case Middie 5th Year Senior

Reminder that Stanford plays Penn State Friday May 8 3PM Pacific/6PM Eastern ESPN+

If you haven't seen the game, let me quote Pultizer Prize winner John McPhee "Of these five games [lacrosse, soccer, basketball, hockey, and water polo]—with their picks and screens, their fast breaks and rotational defenses, their high degree of continuous
motion—water polo, in its sluggish medium, is surely the most awkward, and lacrosse, at the other extreme, creates the fastest and crispest accumulation of passes and is the prettiest to watch."  This is particularly true of the women's game.

[Bruce Wang]

USA Lacrosse published online that cool profile of Aliya Polisky that I mentioned in an earlier post this season.

https://www.usalacrosse.com/magazine/col...y-stanford

[Bruce Wang]

USA Lacrosse published online that cool profile of Aliya Polisky that I mentioned in an earlier post this season.

https://www.usalacrosse.com/magazine/col...y-stanford

[Griffins78]

What a great article. Aliya is really impressive and the kind of student athlete I love to hear about and support. Thanks for sharing.

USA Lacrosse published online that cool profile of Aliya Polisky that I mentioned in an earlier post this season.

https://www.usalacrosse.com/magazine/col...y-stanford

[Griffins78]

What a great article. Aliya is really impressive and the kind of student athlete I love to hear about and support. Thanks for sharing.

USA Lacrosse published online that cool profile of Aliya Polisky that I mentioned in an earlier post this season.

https://www.usalacrosse.com/magazine/col...y-stanford

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford shut out Penn State in the 2nd half and won 7-5! The Cardinal will play host Michigan on Sunday.

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford shut out Penn State in the 2nd half and won 7-5! The Cardinal will play host Michigan on Sunday.

[Bruce Wang]

Stanford shut out Penn State in the 2nd half and won 7-5! The Cardinal will play host Michigan on Sunday.

Defense by both teams was the story of the game.  On several transitions after a successful defense, Penn State failed to clear against "the ride" (think full court press).  Usually teams don't turn the ball over during a clear and the ride is more about slowing the offense down so the defense can get set.  In this game, Stanford's ride forced turnovers.

Stanford outshot Penn State but several shots hit "the pipe" (metal frame of the goal) and their goalie made some incredible saves against "8 meters" (penalty shot).  Stanford defender Anna Colpack made a couple key saves by preventing the ball from rolling into the goal after deflections. Those heads up plays may have saved the game. 

As a Buckeye by upbringing and a Cardinal by education, I am excited about this game against the Meatchicken Skunkbears.

[Bruce Wang]

Stanford shut out Penn State in the 2nd half and won 7-5! The Cardinal will play host Michigan on Sunday.

Defense by both teams was the story of the game.  On several transitions after a successful defense, Penn State failed to clear against "the ride" (think full court press).  Usually teams don't turn the ball over during a clear and the ride is more about slowing the offense down so the defense can get set.  In this game, Stanford's ride forced turnovers.

Stanford outshot Penn State but several shots hit "the pipe" (metal frame of the goal) and their goalie made some incredible saves against "8 meters" (penalty shot).  Stanford defender Anna Colpack made a couple key saves by preventing the ball from rolling into the goal after deflections. Those heads up plays may have saved the game. 

As a Buckeye by upbringing and a Cardinal by education, I am excited about this game against the Meatchicken Skunkbears.

[Papa John]

According to gostanford.com, Stanford's second-round game @ Michigan is scheduled for 10 am PT on Sunday. I believe the game is being streamed on ESPN+.

The teams have several common opponents, but I don't know what that would tell us about Sunday's game given that the transitive property doesn't seem to apply college sports. So I will leave it to the several Cardboaders who, fortunately for the rest of us, are qualified to offer pre-game analysis.

[Papa John]

According to gostanford.com, Stanford's second-round game @ Michigan is scheduled for 10 am PT on Sunday. I believe the game is being streamed on ESPN+.

The teams have several common opponents, but I don't know what that would tell us about Sunday's game given that the transitive property doesn't seem to apply college sports. So I will leave it to the several Cardboaders who, fortunately for the rest of us, are qualified to offer pre-game analysis.

[Bruce Wang]

According to gostanford.com, Stanford's second-round game @ Michigan is scheduled for 10 am PT on Sunday. I believe the game is being streamed on ESPN+.

The teams have several common opponents, but I don't know what that would tell us about Sunday's game given that the transitive property doesn't seem to apply college sports. So I will leave it to the several Cardboaders who, fortunately for the rest of us, are qualified to offer pre-game analysis.

I haven't watched the Skunkbears play this season so I don't have a sense of draw control and goalie play.  The transitive property has predicted not just wins and losses but goal differentials for high school lacrosse so far (caveat that it's only my daughter's first season of high school lacrosse).

All of Stanford's losses came on the road which I attribute to the fatigue of travel and off campus academic pressure rather than crowd atmosphere (there isn't much in this sport).   Hopefully they've had time to settle in Ann Arbor and playoffs puts professor pressure on papers and problem sets aside.

EDIT: I asked Claude. The Skunkbears feature one elite player at draw control (honorable mention All-American) whereas Stanford is deeper and more balanced at the circle. On goalie play, the Skunkbears' goalie is a frosh and she's honorable mention All-American. On the stats she's got the edge over Lucy Pearson who is an excellent goalie.

[Bruce Wang]

According to gostanford.com, Stanford's second-round game @ Michigan is scheduled for 10 am PT on Sunday. I believe the game is being streamed on ESPN+.

The teams have several common opponents, but I don't know what that would tell us about Sunday's game given that the transitive property doesn't seem to apply college sports. So I will leave it to the several Cardboaders who, fortunately for the rest of us, are qualified to offer pre-game analysis.

I haven't watched the Skunkbears play this season so I don't have a sense of draw control and goalie play.  The transitive property has predicted not just wins and losses but goal differentials for high school lacrosse so far (caveat that it's only my daughter's first season of high school lacrosse).

All of Stanford's losses came on the road which I attribute to the fatigue of travel and off campus academic pressure rather than crowd atmosphere (there isn't much in this sport).   Hopefully they've had time to settle in Ann Arbor and playoffs puts professor pressure on papers and problem sets aside.

EDIT: I asked Claude. The Skunkbears feature one elite player at draw control (honorable mention All-American) whereas Stanford is deeper and more balanced at the circle. On goalie play, the Skunkbears' goalie is a frosh and she's honorable mention All-American. On the stats she's got the edge over Lucy Pearson who is an excellent goalie.

[Bruce Wang]

I looked through the various sports books and nobody offers a bet on NCAA women's lacrosse.  Absent that I asked the four major AI platforms. Both Grok and ChatGPT gave Stanford a slight edge.  Gemini presented both cases without hazarding a guess but picked the Skunkbears when I demanded an answer.  Claude just throw up its hands in the air admitting it had no training data on the subject.

BTW we need a thread on AI.

[Bruce Wang]

I looked through the various sports books and nobody offers a bet on NCAA women's lacrosse.  Absent that I asked the four major AI platforms. Both Grok and ChatGPT gave Stanford a slight edge.  Gemini presented both cases without hazarding a guess but picked the Skunkbears when I demanded an answer.  Claude just throw up its hands in the air admitting it had no training data on the subject.

BTW we need a thread on AI.

[Spike]

What a game!
Winners!!

[Spike]

What a game!
Winners!!

[BostonCard]

Stanford was down 12-11 with just over two minutes to go.  Here’s the game-tying goal:

https://x.com/stanfordwlax/status/205355...01405?s=61

We win on an FPG (“free position goal”, which I think is analogous to a penalty) with under a minute on the clock.

13-12, Stanford.  Alas, next up is #2 seed UNC, who we’ve lost to twice by a combined score of 30-17.  It will take a minor miracle to make it to the semi-finals.

BC

[BostonCard]

Stanford was down 12-11 with just over two minutes to go.  Here’s the game-tying goal:

https://x.com/stanfordwlax/status/205355...01405?s=61

We win on an FPG (“free position goal”, which I think is analogous to a penalty) with under a minute on the clock.

13-12, Stanford.  Alas, next up is #2 seed UNC, who we’ve lost to twice by a combined score of 30-17.  It will take a minor miracle to make it to the semi-finals.

BC

[Papa John]

Way to go, Card! Great comeback for the team.

It looks like Michigan was the only seeded team to lose, so another feather in the cap for Stanford. Also, I think that UNC and Stanford are the only remaining ACC teams (Syracuse had a come-from-ahead loss in OT and BC lost as well).

Not only does Stanford play UNC, it's a "neutral" site game in Chapel Hill, NC. I wonder if the team will stay east. I can't imagine flying back to the Bay Area tonight only to have a cross-country trip on Tuesday or Wednesday.

[Papa John]

Way to go, Card! Great comeback for the team.

It looks like Michigan was the only seeded team to lose, so another feather in the cap for Stanford. Also, I think that UNC and Stanford are the only remaining ACC teams (Syracuse had a come-from-ahead loss in OT and BC lost as well).

Not only does Stanford play UNC, it's a "neutral" site game in Chapel Hill, NC. I wonder if the team will stay east. I can't imagine flying back to the Bay Area tonight only to have a cross-country trip on Tuesday or Wednesday.

[Bruce Wang]

As a test of AI, I asked Grok, Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude who would be the potential matchups for Stanford if they somehow upset UNC.  All 4 failed miserably.  I mentioned this on my drinking buddies text group and one of them ran the question on his paid Perplexity subscription.  The answer was not even wrong.

We've got more time than I thought before Skynet becomes self aware.

[Bruce Wang]

As a test of AI, I asked Grok, Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude who would be the potential matchups for Stanford if they somehow upset UNC.  All 4 failed miserably.  I mentioned this on my drinking buddies text group and one of them ran the question on his paid Perplexity subscription.  The answer was not even wrong.

We've got more time than I thought before Skynet becomes self aware.

[Bruce Wang]

The come from behind narrow victory against the Skunkbears was my favorite lacrosse game I've seen that did not involve my kids.  It's too bad that technical difficulties prevented the broadcast of a brobdingnagian chunk of the beginning of the game.

It was a team victory as it seemed like every player made critical plays.  Stanford won by getting many more shots on goal to overcome the strong skunkbear goalie.  Stanford also forced more turnovers (13 vs 7).

One of lacrosse's mantras is "Ground balls win championship" so middie Rylie Bouvier deserves a shout out for leading the game in ground balls (4) and caused turnovers (4).

You can watch the rematch against Chloe and the Tar Heels Thursday 4:30 Pac/7:30 East on ESPNU.

EDIT: I didn't realize this when watching the game. It was Rylie Bouvier that got the final draw control to seal the game.

[Bruce Wang]

The come from behind narrow victory against the Skunkbears was my favorite lacrosse game I've seen that did not involve my kids.  It's too bad that technical difficulties prevented the broadcast of a brobdingnagian chunk of the beginning of the game.

It was a team victory as it seemed like every player made critical plays.  Stanford won by getting many more shots on goal to overcome the strong skunkbear goalie.  Stanford also forced more turnovers (13 vs 7).

One of lacrosse's mantras is "Ground balls win championship" so middie Rylie Bouvier deserves a shout out for leading the game in ground balls (4) and caused turnovers (4).

You can watch the rematch against Chloe and the Tar Heels Thursday 4:30 Pac/7:30 East on ESPNU.

EDIT: I didn't realize this when watching the game. It was Rylie Bouvier that got the final draw control to seal the game.

[Papa John]

Third time's a charm (I hope).

[Papa John]

Third time's a charm (I hope).

[SearchingForTheTruth]

Flew to Chapel Hill today. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYNHzSgEaQv/...IwNjQ2YQ==

Way to go, Card! Great comeback for the team.

It looks like Michigan was the only seeded team to lose, so another feather in the cap for Stanford. Also, I think that UNC and Stanford are the only remaining ACC teams (Syracuse had a come-from-ahead loss in OT and BC lost as well).

Not only does Stanford play UNC, it's a "neutral" site game in Chapel Hill, NC. I wonder if the team will stay east. I can't imagine flying back to the Bay Area tonight only to have a cross-country trip on Tuesday or Wednesday.

[SearchingForTheTruth]

Flew to Chapel Hill today. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYNHzSgEaQv/...IwNjQ2YQ==

Way to go, Card! Great comeback for the team.

It looks like Michigan was the only seeded team to lose, so another feather in the cap for Stanford. Also, I think that UNC and Stanford are the only remaining ACC teams (Syracuse had a come-from-ahead loss in OT and BC lost as well).

Not only does Stanford play UNC, it's a "neutral" site game in Chapel Hill, NC. I wonder if the team will stay east. I can't imagine flying back to the Bay Area tonight only to have a cross-country trip on Tuesday or Wednesday.

[Papa John]

Thanks for that info, SFTT. So jet lag should not be an excuse for the quarterfinals. 

According to lacrossereference.com, here is what they call "The Tale of the Tape:"

                                 Stanford                                 North Carolina
Offensive Efficiency         9th                                          1st
Defensive Efficiency         4th                                          9th
Draw Controls                29th                                         6th
Save Percentage            19th                                         24th
LaxElo Rank                    5th                                          1st

In any case--if I'm reading the data correctly--UNC has a better ranking than Stanford in Offensive Efficiency, Draw Controls and Elo Rank (which has to do with player skill?). Stanford is ranked better in Defensive Efficiency and Save Percentage.

Having said that Stanford scored 9 and 8 goals in the previous two meetings, while UNC scored 18 and 12.

So my question for the experts: Besides somehow slowing down Chloe Humphrey, what will it take for Stanford to pull off a h.uge upset on Thursday?

[Papa John]

Thanks for that info, SFTT. So jet lag should not be an excuse for the quarterfinals. 

According to lacrossereference.com, here is what they call "The Tale of the Tape:"

                                 Stanford                                 North Carolina
Offensive Efficiency         9th                                          1st
Defensive Efficiency         4th                                          9th
Draw Controls                29th                                         6th
Save Percentage            19th                                         24th
LaxElo Rank                    5th                                          1st

In any case--if I'm reading the data correctly--UNC has a better ranking than Stanford in Offensive Efficiency, Draw Controls and Elo Rank (which has to do with player skill?). Stanford is ranked better in Defensive Efficiency and Save Percentage.

Having said that Stanford scored 9 and 8 goals in the previous two meetings, while UNC scored 18 and 12.

So my question for the experts: Besides somehow slowing down Chloe Humphrey, what will it take for Stanford to pull off a h.uge upset on Thursday?

[SearchingForTheTruth]

Stanford was out drawn in both games (8-20 and 7-13). Stanford needs to be even or ahead.

Fouls. In the last game Stanford had 3 green and 5 yellow cards. Need to not give UNC a player advantage.

Shots on goal. Stanford shot poorly in the second game (12-27). Need more quality chances.

Free position shots. In the first game Stanford gave up 11 and got 4. The second game it was 1-4. UNC was 8-11 and 3-4. Can't give up easy scoring opportunities.

Clears. The last game Stanford failed to clear twice. That can give UNC fast break opportunities. Need to have 100% clears.

I believe in the second game Stanford face guarded Chloe Humphrey. She still had 4 goals and 2 assists. Without the face guard she had 8 goals and 2 assists. I expect to see the face guard again, but UNC will be ready for it and they may just play 6 v 6, which could be an advantage for UNC if Stanford puts their best defender on Humphrey. 

Thanks for that info, SFTT. So jet lag should not be an excuse for the quarterfinals. 

According to lacrossereference.com, here is what they call "The Tale of the Tape:"

                                 Stanford                                 North Carolina
Offensive Efficiency         9th                                          1st
Defensive Efficiency         4th                                          9th
Draw Controls                29th                                         6th
Save Percentage            19th                                         24th
LaxElo Rank                    5th                                          1st

In any case--if I'm reading the data correctly--UNC has a better ranking than Stanford in Offensive Efficiency, Draw Controls and Elo Rank (which has to do with player skill?). Stanford is ranked better in Defensive Efficiency and Save Percentage.

Having said that Stanford scored 9 and 8 goals in the previous two meetings, while UNC scored 18 and 12.

So my question for the experts: Besides somehow slowing down Chloe Humphrey, what will it take for Stanford to pull off a h.uge upset on Thursday?

[SearchingForTheTruth]

Stanford was out drawn in both games (8-20 and 7-13). Stanford needs to be even or ahead.

Fouls. In the last game Stanford had 3 green and 5 yellow cards. Need to not give UNC a player advantage.

Shots on goal. Stanford shot poorly in the second game (12-27). Need more quality chances.

Free position shots. In the first game Stanford gave up 11 and got 4. The second game it was 1-4. UNC was 8-11 and 3-4. Can't give up easy scoring opportunities.

Clears. The last game Stanford failed to clear twice. That can give UNC fast break opportunities. Need to have 100% clears.

I believe in the second game Stanford face guarded Chloe Humphrey. She still had 4 goals and 2 assists. Without the face guard she had 8 goals and 2 assists. I expect to see the face guard again, but UNC will be ready for it and they may just play 6 v 6, which could be an advantage for UNC if Stanford puts their best defender on Humphrey. 

Thanks for that info, SFTT. So jet lag should not be an excuse for the quarterfinals. 

According to lacrossereference.com, here is what they call "The Tale of the Tape:"

                                 Stanford                                 North Carolina
Offensive Efficiency         9th                                          1st
Defensive Efficiency         4th                                          9th
Draw Controls                29th                                         6th
Save Percentage            19th                                         24th
LaxElo Rank                    5th                                          1st

In any case--if I'm reading the data correctly--UNC has a better ranking than Stanford in Offensive Efficiency, Draw Controls and Elo Rank (which has to do with player skill?). Stanford is ranked better in Defensive Efficiency and Save Percentage.

Having said that Stanford scored 9 and 8 goals in the previous two meetings, while UNC scored 18 and 12.

So my question for the experts: Besides somehow slowing down Chloe Humphrey, what will it take for Stanford to pull off a h.uge upset on Thursday?