2018 Season in Review2018 Season in Review
John P. Lozano/isiphotos.com
Field Hockey

2018 Season in Review

A LOOK BACK
Stanford (14-6, 5-1 America East) came up short in its bid for a third consecutive America East Conference title, falling to Maine in the semifinal round for the first time since 2015. Stanford was playing host to a postseason conference tournament for the first time since the NorPac Conference Championship was held on The Farm in 2011.

The Cardinal, which has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 10 of the last 12 seasons, also produced at least 13 victories for the 10th straight year. A top-25 fixture the entire year, Stanford locked up the top seed in the America East Championship while capturing conference Offensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Co-Goalkeeper of the Year and Coaching Staff of the Year.

The season was highlighted by an eight-game win streak that included a victory over No. 6 Michigan on October 6. Although the eight-game streak was snapped, Stanford proceeded to win its next five, compiling 13 wins in 14 contests to span the bulk of the season.

The Cardinal was tabbed as the divisional favorite in the America East Conference preseason poll after winning the previous two America East Conference titles. The unanimous selection to win the West Division had Stanford marked as the favorite for the third time in four years.

ZANOLLI TABBED ALL-AMERICAN
Sophomore Corinne Zanolli was named a Longstreth/NFHCA second-team All-American following a stellar second year with the Card. The All-American selection was the first for the Cardinal since Kelsey Bing and Caroline Beaudoin nabbed third-team selections in 2016. One year after earning America East Rookie of the Year honors as the Cardinal's leading goal scorer, Zanolli exploded offensively and nearly doubled that output with 26 goals, ranking second in the nation, in 2018. Zanolli also contributed seven assists for 59 points while leading Stanford with 84 shots, 60 of which were on frame. Her 26 goals and 59 points set new program records for the Cardinal in a single season.

ALL-REGION PICKS
Junior Kelsey Bing, freshman Molly Redgrove and sophomore Corinne Zanolli were recognized as Longstreth/NFHCA All-Region selections. For the second straight season, Zanolli was named to the first team. Redgrove earned a spot on the second team, while Bing was honored for the third time in her career, including the second straight season on the second team.

Named America East Co-Goalkeeper of the Year alongside Albany's Melissa Nealon, Bing started all 20 games in the cage for Stanford. She finished with 109 saves to only 33 goals allowed, for a 1.64 goals against average and a .768 save percentage. Bing has now won the award in back-to-back seasons, following up a 2017 campaign in which she posted a conference-best .794 save percentage to rank sixth nationally.

Redgrove was named the America East Rookie of the Year, wrapping up an impressive debut season in which she totaled six goals, five assists, 31 shots and two defensive saves. Redgrove helped lead a Cardinal defense that limited opponents to 1.70 goals per game. She also booked a spot on the America East All-Championship Team, highlighted by her game-winning goal against New Hampshire in the tournament's opener.

CARD SWEEPS CONFERENCE AWARDS
Stanford was well represented among this year's America East All-Conference awards, coming away with the Offensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Co-Goalkeeper of the Year, and Coaching Staff of the Year. Corrine Zanolli received Offensive Player of the Year, Kelsey Bing was named co-Goalkeeper of the Year alongside Albany's Melissa Nealon, Molly Redgrove took home Rookie of the Year, and head coach Tara Danielson and assistant coaches Steve Danielson and Patrick Cota were recognized as the Coaching Staff of the Year.

The Cardinal also placed four student-athletes on the West Division All-Conference team, with Bing, Redgrove and Zanolli joined by freshman Fenella Scutt. A two-time U18 National Schools Champion in her England career, Scutt tallied one goal and nine assists to help pace the Cardinal attack.

Bing and Zanolli took home two more honors on the night, earning spots on the All-Academic team, while Redgrove and Scutt were each named to the All-Rookie team.

CHRISTUS PICKED FOR SENIOR ALL-STAR GAME
Senior Emma Christus, an America East All-Tournament selection, was picked to participate at the NFHCA Division I Senior All-Star Game. Christus started all 20 games for the Cardinal in her final season, scoring seven goals to accompany six assists for 20 points. The Bernardsville, N.J. native finished second on the team in goals scored and netted a pair of goals on as many shots against Yale on September 14 – capping a string of consecutive games with two goals.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS
Kelsey Bing (2) – America East Defensive Player of the Week (9/11, 10/2)
Corinne Zanolli (2) – America East Offensive Player of the Week (9/18, 10/2)

BING ADDED TO NATIONAL TEAM
Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Bing was one of three players added to the U.S. Women's National Field Hockey Team in December. Bing was joined by fellow goalkeeper, Kealsie Robles, and midfielder Linnea Gonzales.

"It is a huge honor to be named to the U.S. Women's National Team," commented Bing. "This has always been a goal of mine, so it feels really nice knowing that my hard work has paid off. I am looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities that will come with joining the team."

Bing recorded her first international cap with the USWNT in the test series against Belgium in November. A veteran of the Olympic Development Pipeline, she was a member of the U.S. U-17 Women's National Team from 2012-14 before a four-year stint with the U.S. U-21 Women's National Team from 2014-18, and later being named to the 2018 U.S. Women's National Development Squad. She helped the U-21 USWNT claim silver at the 2016 women's Junior Pan American Games in Tacarigua, Trinidad & Tobago and competed at the women's Hockey Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile.

Bing burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2016, capturing third-team Longstreth/NFHCA All-American honors and America East Conference Rookie of the Year after registering seven shutouts and ranking second in the nation in goals against average (1.17). The native of Houston, Texas has also nabbed Longstreth/NFHCA second-team All-Region honors and America East Goalkeeper of the Year selections the last two seasons. Over three years with the Cardinal, Bing has accumulated a 1.43 goals against average while registering 295 saves – denying 77 percent of shots faced.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Field hockey was one of 12 Stanford varsity athletic programs to receive Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR) Public Recognition Awards from the NCAA. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams. The APR measures eligibility, graduation and retention each semester or academic term and provides a clear picture of the academic performance for each team in every sport. All teams must meet an academic threshold of 930 to qualify for the postseason and can face penalties for continued low academic performance.

Stanford was also one of 76 programs to earn the 2018 Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA Division I National Academic Team Award, awarded to programs that earned a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher during the fall semester of the 2018-19 school year.

Individually, 15 student-athletes earned a spot on the 2018 Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad. This year, 940 student-athletes from 76 Division I institutions earned recognition on National Academic Squad. Representing Stanford, Kelsey Bing, Emma Christus, Lily Croddick, Phoebe Crosthwaite, Liz Heckard, Kaylie Mings, Isabelle Pilson, Juli Porto, Nina Randolph, Molly Redgrove, Hannah Schofield, Fenella Scutt, Emily Surgent, Jessica Welch and Corinne Zanolli were all lauded.

The Division I National Academic Squad program honors student-athletes who achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.3 or higher through the first semester of the 2018-19 academic year.

Continuing a string of academic selections, Bing, Pilson, Redgrove and Scutt were named 2018 Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA Scholars of Distinction. The Division I Scholars of Distinction program recognizes student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.9 or higher through the first semester of the 2018-19 academic year.

At the conference level, Stanford was well-represented on the America East Honor Roll, as 19 of the team's 22 field hockey players earned recognition. Of the group, 17 were named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll after recording a GPA of 3.50 or better. Seniors Christus and Kennedy Schumacher each found a spot on the Commissioner's Honor Roll, joined by juniors Emma Alderton, Bing, Crosthwaite, Randolph and Welch. Madison Connell, Mings, Schofield, Surgent and Zanolli were lauded as Commissioner's Honor Roll selections as sophomores, while freshmen Croddick, Heckard, Pilson, Redgrove and Scutt earned the honor in their first year on The Farm. Senior Jordan Barry and freshman Porto rounded out the selections after earning a spot on the Conference Honor Roll.

KELSEY BING: BEHIND THE MASK
Stanford's Dave Kiefer contributed a feature on Kelsey Bing, describing the piece as "a thinking goalie's guide to not thinking in field hockey."

My name is Kelsey Bing and I like to think – a lot. I love puzzles and problem solving. I roll them around in my mind for fun. Give me any problem and I will work to find a solution.

But put me in front of a field hockey goal and my mind goes blank. It has to, because my job is so simple: Keep the ball out of the net.

I'm a mechanical engineering major at Stanford and a goalie on the field hockey team. We're ranked No. 21 in the country and we're shooting for our third straight America East Conference tournament title this week at home.

There is much alike and much different about my two worlds. Both are filled with dynamics and motion. But while being analytical is ideal in the classroom, it's a killer for a goalie. That's why I continually have to remind myself: Don't think.

Let me give you a glimpse of life behind the mask, at least from my point of view, and I'll start with a situation – a shootout.

When the score is tied in field hockey, after two 35-minute halves and two 10-minute overtimes, the game is decided by a shootout, our version of penalty kicks. For five rounds, a player goes one-on-one against the goalie, with eight seconds to shoot.

My first thought: Get inside their head.

I always try to make eye contact. I'll just look at them. Sometimes they look back, sometimes they don't. You just want them to know the pressure is all on them. It's such a mental game. I don't want them to react to them, I want them to react to me.

READ THE FULL FEATURE

STANFORD DOWN UNDER
Stanford women's field hockey spent its spring break in Australia from March 22-31, playing a pair of games and participating in service opportunities and cultural experiences.

Stanford took off from San Francisco International Airport on March 22 and settled in Cairns City, Queensland on March 24. There, the team explored Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park and experienced the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.

The Cardinal then spent six nights in Coogee, New South Wales beginning on March 26. In addition to playing games against Sydney University and University of Technology, Sydney on March 27 and 28, respectively, the Card took a walking tour of Sydney, participated in a community service event paired with the Charity Bounce organization, and attended an Australian Football League contest between the Sydney Swans and Adelaide Crows.

READ THE TEAM BLOG OF THE TRIP

LOOKING TO NEXT YEAR
Stanford field hockey head coach Tara Danielson announced the addition of five dynamic freshmen for the 2019 season, including Keeley Akagi, Megan Frost, Caroline Reinhart, Lynn Vanderstichele and Rose Winter.

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Welcome to The Farm, @keeleyakagii, @meganfrost4, @caroline.reinhart, @lynn.vx and @rose.e.winter! #GoStanford

A post shared by Stanford Field Hockey (@stanfordfieldhockey) on May 6, 2019 at 12:29pm PDT