STANFORD, Calif. - No. 21 Stanford was edged 3-2 by No. 4 Connecticut on Sunday afternoon, with the Huskies escaping thanks to a goal with six minutes left in regulation.
Facing the second of two top-15 opponents during this weekend's Stanford Invitational, the Cardinal (0-2, 0-0 America East) was looking to rebound after falling 4-3 in a shootout against No. 15 Northwestern on Friday.
The Cardinal jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the second quarter, making a push for its highest-ranked victory since knocking off No. 2 Connecticut back on Sept. 26, 2014.
Despite Connecticut (2-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) owning advantages in shots (20-6) and penalty corners (8-2), Stanford was in control from the start. The Cardinal moved ahead 1-0 when Corinne Zanolli scored her third goal of the season in the seventh minute, back-handing a shot into the cage following an assist from Jessica Welch.
At the 16:39 mark, Stanford made it 2-0 when Rose Winter found the cage off a penalty corner, with Sarah Johnson and Fenella Scutt contributing assists.
The Huskies answered less than a minute later, as Svea Booker scored unassisted to cut the lead to 2-1.
Connecticut applied more pressure after halftime, outshooting Stanford 10-1 over the final 30 minutes. Jessica Dembrowski got the equalizer in the 41st minute before Antonia Tiedtke's unassisted goal in the 54th minute proved to be the difference.
Kelsey Bing made nine saves in goal, after making a career-best 14 saves on Friday.
Stanford next hosts Quinnipiac on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 10 a.m.