Oct. 5, 2003
East Lansing, Mich. - Stanford (3-8) continued its three-game Michigan swing with a 2-0 loss to Northwestern (5-6) in a non-conference neutral site contest on Sunday at the MSU Field Hockey Complex, the second of three games over four days for the Cardinal in East Lansing, Michigan. Meghan Small scored Northwestern's first goal when she found the back of the cage at 22:16 on an assist from Ellen Schlafly. The score remained 1-0 and within reach for the Cardinal until Northwestern's Candice Cooper added an unassisted insurance goal with less than five minutes remaining at 65:42.
Northwestern held advantages of 22-9 in shots and 9-2 in penalty corners.
Cooper led all players with eight shot attempts, while Noor Dawood had a team-high four for the Cardinal.
Stanford goalkeeper Emily Zander (2-6) had 12 saves despite taking the loss, while Sherri-Anne Nyberg recorded seven saves for Northwestern in a winning effort.
Northwestern snapped a three-game losing streak in which it had been shutout in three consecutive contests by Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State.
Stanford lost for the seventh time in its last eight games and was shutout for the second consecutive outing for the first time since the Cardinal was blanked by Delaware (1-0) and Maryland (2-0) in its first two games of the 2001 campaign.
"It was a disappointing loss," said Stanford head coach Lesley Irvine. "We had good spells but just didn't convert on some of our chances. We're looking forward to finishing the road trip with a win versus Central Michigan on Tuesday.
Stanford finishes its three-game stint in East versus Central Michigan on Tuesday, October 7 (11 am, ET). A key conference showdown at NorPac West Division leader California on October 11 will conclude the team's current four-game road stretch. The Cardinal returns home for an exhibition contest against its Alumnae on Sunday, October 19 (1 pm, PT) before hosting Southwest Missouri State in its final two regular season home contests on Sunday, October 26 (1 pm, PT) and Tuesday, October 28 (11 am, PT).