The Colorado State Rams bounced back from their thumping against Cal with a convincing 16-7 thrashing of #13 Stanford on a wet day in northern California. The Rams never trailed and were able to put away the Cardinal with the help of excellent man-down play and an attack which out played the Stanford defense all day long. CSU started quickly with three goals in the first 3:30 of the game to open up a 3-0 lead. Mike Roth led the Rams midfield with 4 goals.
The attack duo of Mike Napollili (5g, 1a) and Ryan Ferrin (3g) accounted for half of the CSU goals in the game and were able to control the tempo of the game behind the goal. Despite only leading 6-3 at the half, CSU was determined to come out and put away the pesky Cardinal with a third quarter barrage. Unfortunately, this goal was hindered by a controversial three minute illegal stick penalty on face-off middie Andy Wolper. The Rams defense answered the call by shutting down the penalty and helped with a goal to Ryan Ferrin during the disadvantage.
Wolper came back later in the game with his back up stick and along with Pat Lambert, the Rams proceeded to dominate the face offs for the remainder of the game. The Rams took a 10-5 lead into the fourth quarter, where they methodically dismantled the overmatched Cardinal en route to a 16-7 victory. Jared Katz played extremely well for CSU, scoring two goals. Cale Vanvelkinburgh and Andy "Rudy" Kliewer anchored the CSU defense with a combined 22 saves. Next up for CSU, a date with Cal-Davis under the lights before heading back home.
