EVANSTON, Ill. - No. 15 Stanford opened its 2018 campaign with a 3-0 loss to No. 1 Connecticut on Saturday afternoon.
Stanford (0-1, 0-0 America East) played NCAA defending champion Connecticut level heading into halftime before the Huskies scored three times over a seven-minute stretch in the second half to put the game away.
The Huskies (2-0, 0-0 Big EAST) held advantages in shots (16-3) and penalty corners (5-1).
Frances Carstens, Phoebe Crosthwaite and Fenella Scutt accounted for the Cardinal's shot attempts.
Kelsey Bing finished with eight saves, keeping the Cardinal within striking distance despite Connecticut's scoring stretch midway through the second half.
Freshmen Lily Croddick, Liz Heckard, Isabelle Pilson, Juli Porto, Molly Redgrove and Fenella Scutt made their collegiate debuts.
Stanford, which has faced Connecticut in three straight season openers, was seeking its first victory in a lid-lifter since blanking Delaware 4-0 in 2014.
The Cardinal returns to action on Sunday against No. 12 Northwestern at 11 a.m. PT.
Stanford, which has won at least 13 games in each of head coach Tara Danielson's eight seasons, returns to The Farm on Saturday, Sept. 1, to host No. 11 Syracuse. Five of the Cardinal's first six matches will be played away from Varsity Turf.