STANFORD, Calif. - Phoebe Crosthwaite scored seven minutes into the first overtime period to give No. 23 Stanford a 2-1 victory over Kent State on Sunday afternoon at the Varsity Turf.
Stanford (5-3, 0-0 America East) recorded its second win of the weekend and fifth straight victory overall, returning to The Farm after playing five of its first six games away from home.
The Cardinal fell behind 1-0 midway through the first half, when Kent State's Sydney Carr delivered a big goal for the Golden Flashes (2-7, 0-0 MAC). After the opening goal, Stanford brought relentless pressure, but the Cardinal couldn't break through before halftime.
In the second half, Stanford kept pressuring the Kent State defensive zone until finally breaking through for an equalizer. Nina Randolph deflected a Molly Redgrove shot past Kent State's Mary Crumlish for the goal, which came just six minutes into the second period.
Five in a row and not slowing down pic.twitter.com/lX5X3azIIO
— Stanford Field Hockey (@StanfordFH) September 16, 2018
Stanford, which owned advantages in shots (13-8) and penalty corners (4-1) at the end of regulation, seemed poised to win the game outright, but chance after chance was either saved or sailed just wide of net, bringing the game to overtime. In the overtime period, Stanford recorded all four shots, and earned two key penalty corners for their efforts. The sixth and final penalty corner of the game led to Crosthwaite's goal and a fifth consecutive Stanford win.
The Cardinal brings its winning streak into a 12-day break, which will include the start of collegiate classes and orientation for the talented freshman class. Stanford returns to action on Friday Sept. 28, hosting Pacific at 7 p.m. at Varsity Turf.