STANFORD, Calif. – Taking the field for the third-straight outing on the Varsity Turf, Stanford field hockey fell to No. 2 North Carolina, 6-0, on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinal will head into America East action with. 2-3 overall mark.
"I think that UNC is a great program and the point of scheduling them was to take ourselves to a next level. There's a lot of belief and growth within our program right now, but it's part of sport that you can get blown back," said head coach Roz Ellis. "We just got measured, we need to focus on where we can improve from here to head into conference play."
Freshmen Daisy Ford and Kendall Dowd combined on the action in goal, making four and two saves, respectively. Senior Molly Redgrove added her second defensive save of the year, while freshmen Tottie Taylor and Ella Ganocy mustered shots against the Tar Heel defense.
Following a defensive battle in the opening quarter, North Carolina scored four times in the second period to take a 4-0 lead into the break. The visitors added two additional goals in the third quarter before a scoreless final quarter in which Stanford allowed no shots.
The contest served as a homecoming for nearly two dozen alumnae spanning six decades, many of whom were instrumental in reviving the program in 2021.
"The alumnae have been incredible – I'm so proud of them for rallying behind the program to resurrect it and be here to celebrate our current women," continued Ellis. "The team got to hang out with them yesterday, and they came back from that inspired. They said it was so amazing to be around women who came through this program, and look at their careers and who they are, and how they have fought for women in sport. It inspires our current team to fight that battle too."
The Cardinal opens America East action on Friday, Sept. 16 at UMass Lowell. The action gets underway at noon PT on AmericaEast.tv.