Sophomore attacker Hannah Liddy equaled her 2018 point total on the opening day of the NCAA women's lacrosse season as No. 20 Denver held off No. 15 Stanford for an 8-7 victory.

Liddy scored three goals and added two assists for a five-point effort, the last coming on a goal with 2:25 remaining that gave the Pioneers an 8-5 lead. It was Denver's only goal of the second half.

Stanford trailed 7-1 at the half, but slowly chipped away in the second half. Mikaela Watson scored with 1:29 remaining and the Cardinal got within one on Ali Baiocco's goal with 28 seconds left. Stanford's Areta Buness won the next draw, but Denver goalie Carson Gregg made her seventh save of the game in the closing moments to secure the victory.

Eliza Radochonski added a pair of goals for Denver, both coming in the final 10 minutes of the first half as Denver went on a four-goal run to take a six-goal lead at the break.

Watson paced Stanford with four points on two goals and two assists and Daniella McMahon also scored two goals.

It was the third straight victory for Denver over Stanford in the series, and the second straight year the Pioneers opened the season with a win over the Cardinal.

Sun Devils Follow Brush with NBA Stars with Victory

Arizona State capped a memorable day that began with Golden State Warriors stars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson showing some lacrosse skills with a 14-7 victory over Kennesaw State on Friday night.

The Warriors had a shoot-around on Arizona State's campus prior to their Friday night game against the Phoenix Suns. The NBA players posed for pictures with the Arizona State squad and then started throwing the ball around, much to the delight of onlookers.

.@warriors stars @StephenCurry30 and @KlayThompson showing off their #lacrosse skills. 

They'll be stinging corners from long distance in no time.  (: @SunDevilWLax) pic.twitter.com/S19oR8x00I

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 8, 2019

The ASU women showed their own skills later on, pulling away from a 5-4 halftime lead to post the victory.

Kerri Clayton, the Sun Devils leading scorer in their inaugural season a year ago, led the way with four goals, including two goals in the opening minute of the game.

After Siena Gore opened the second half scoring for Kennesaw State to knot the score 5-5, Arizona State socred five of the next six goals. Chesslyn Lamar cut the lead to 10-7 with 12:09 to play before Clayton scored her third goal to ignite a game-closing four goal run for the sun Devils.

.@kerriclayton22 with the HATTY  pic.twitter.com/paKRo3UNr9

— Sun Devil Lacrosse (@SunDevilWLax) February 9, 2019

Taylor Carson added a hat trick for Arizona State and goalie Berkeley Bonneau made nine saves to earn the victory.

Fast Start Carries Northwestern

No. 8 Northwestern scored 15 times in the first half to take an 11-goal lead and cruised to a 21-11 victory over Louisville in the Wildcats first game inside Ryan Fieldhouse.

Freshamn Izzy Scane, a member of the U.S. U19 team which is also led by Northwestern head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller, scored the first of her two goals just 12 seconds into the game and the Wildcats kept pouring it on.

Senior Selena Lasota led the way with five goals, and Lauren Gilbert and Claire Quinn each scored three goals.

Lynch Fires Up Notre Dame

Senior Samantha Lynch, who missed almost all of last season after suffering an injury in the season opener against Boston College, poured in six goals to lead No. 19 Notre Dame to a dominating 19-4 victory over Marquette.

The Irish, coming off a disappointing 10-9 season that saw them on the outside looking in of the NCAA tournament, wasted no time in starting off 2019 on a positive note. The Irish scored the first eight goals of the game and led 9-1 at halftime behind first-half hat tricks from Andie Aldave and Maddie Howe. Aldave, Howell, Lynch, Mollie Carr and Jessi Masinko all had at least three goals.

Orange Come Out Red-Hot

No. 11 Syracuse scored eight goals in the first eight minutes of the game en route to an 18-6 victory over Connecticut.

Emily Hawryschuk, featured on the cover of the February edition of US Lacrosse Magazine, tied for the Orange lead with a game-high five points, scoring four goals and adding an assist during the game-opening eight-goal run.  Freshman Meaghan Tyrell also had five points (2g, 3a) in her collegiate debut.

Other Games

• Sophomore goalie Kate Brewster made a career-high 20 saves as Delaware shut down regional rival Temple 7-4. Delaware was held scoreless for the final 33 minutes of the game, but Brewster made 11 second half saves, allowing just one goal. Christine Long led the Blue Hens with three goals.

• Senior Grace Richards made a career-best 17 saves as UC Davis opened the season with a 15-10 win over UMass-Lowell. Sorana Larson and Mar Alvear each scored three times and Amanda Outcalt had a goal and four assists.

• Jill Rizzo made 16 saves, and held Cincinnati scoreless on eight free position attempts, as Ohio State beat the Bearcats 16-6.

• Adriana Pendino scored a career-best six goals as Michigan dominated the early going in a 15-10 victory at Cal. Mira Shane made 10 saves to earn the victory.

• Sophomore Taralyn Naslonski tallied 10 points on seven goals and three assists as Rutgers overpowered LIU Brooklyn 20-3.

• East Carolina, which went 2-15 in its inaugural season in 2018, opened the 2019 season with a 13-12 victory over Winthrop. Brittany Borchers had two goals and three assists for the Pirates with both goals coming in the final 10 minutes.

Nike/US Lacrosse Women's Division I Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 8 Northwestern 21, Louisville 11
No. 11 Syracuse 18, Connecticut 6
No. 20 Denver 8, No. 15 Stanford 7
No. 19 Notre Dame 19, Marquette 4

Other Scores

Arizona State 14, Kennesaw State 7
Delaware 7, Temple 4
East Carolina 13, Winthrop 12
Michigan 15, Cal 10
Ohio State 16, Cincinnati 6
Rutgers 20, LIU Brooklyn 3
UC Davis 15, UMass-Lowell 10