Denver Secures 2023 Final Four Rematch with Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. — With a bulky black knee brace fastened around her right leg, Denver defender Sam Thacker entered her first game action in more than a month during her squad’s NCAA tournament first-round showdown against Stanford on Friday at Martin Stadium.

“It’s been a crazy last few weeks, but it really shows you it’s beyond just the sport, but [it’s] also the support that you have,” Thacker said. “That’s part of the drive I had to get back and want to play for my teammates and represent Denver in one last trip to the NCAA tournament.”

Despite missing seven consecutive games with a leg injury and displaying visible discomfort, Thacker came off the bench to record three ground balls and two caused turnovers to help the Pioneers (16-3) defeat the Cardinal (13-5) 13-12 and book a ticket to Sunday’s second-round tilt against No. 1 seed Northwestern.

“Sam is not only one of the most competitive athletes I’ve ever coached, but one of the best leaders, hands down,” Denver coach Liza Kelly said. “For an entire month, she put this team on her shoulders. … Today was such a great way to celebrate her and the rest of the team.”

Stanford attacker Sarah Jacques scored just 18 seconds into the game, and both teams traded offensive momentum as a drizzle crescendoed into a downpour. The Cardinal and the Pioneers each grabbed last-minute goals to close the first quarter tied at 4 apiece.

Facing a 5-4 deficit in the second quarter’s opening minutes, Thacker caused a turnover, scooped the ground ball and found darting defender Trinity McPherson up field. After attacker Lauren Black buried an equalizer off McPherson’s assist, the Big East champions wouldn't fall behind for the rest of the matchup.

While the patented Denver zone locked down the Stanford attack for the first half’s final 12 minutes, Julia Gilbert, Ryan Dineen and Black poured in a barrage of goals, settling the Pioneers’ halftime advantage at 8-5.

“We play as such a unit,” Thacker said. “You don’t play by yourself, you do everything together, and that just makes it so much more fun.”

Following Black’s tally just 65 seconds into the third quarter, Cardinal midfielder Maddigan Miller and attacker Aliya Polisky combined for three goals to trim the deficit to just one late in the period.

However, when Polisky went to the 8-meter with a chance to knot the score at 9, the Tennessee native went down with an apparent non-contact injury in the ensuing moments. She was the second of two Stanford starters to exit the game and not return due to injury.

“We dealt with two significant injuries to two of our best players that are just wild and unfortunate — and completely out of our control,” Cardinal coach Danielle Spencer said. “I feel incredibly proud with the way our team responded to that.”

Denver fortified a 12-9 advantage with less than seven minutes remaining in the final quarter, but Jaques and Stanford attacker Jay Browne brought the game back within one possession heading into the final five minutes.

While Dineen secured her season-high seventh point on Caroline Collimore’s apparent insurance goal, Cardinal attacker Jordyn Case found twine with 25 seconds left to play. Spencer pulled goalkeeper Lucy Pearson in exchange for an extra attacker, but Stanford ultimately ran out of time on the offensive end when the clock struck triple zeroes following a foul call.

Despite the result, Spencer said she’s especially optimistic about the Cardinal’s future prospects.

“There’s no such thing as overnight success,” Spencer said. “Although we didn’t get the result we wanted today, we’re closer than we’ve ever been as a program to taking that next step.”

For the Pioneers, a rematch of last season’s Final Four — and March 8’s 14-10 defeat — awaits them in the hosting Wildcats. Northwestern boasts a 43-game home winning streak and will be eight days removed from its 14-12 Big Ten tournament title victory over Penn State.

Kelly said the focus was entirely on defeating Stanford earlier in the week, but her staff will swiftly get into game planning for the defending national champions.

“Something our team has done every single year is manage those ebb and flows,” Thacker said. “We come right back up the next day or the next play in practice and just set the bar higher.”