STANFORD, Calif. – Continuing its four-game homestand with the third consecutive ranked opponent, Stanford field hockey fell to No. 5 Penn State, 5-1, on Sunday at the Varsity Turf.
Sophomore Daisy Ford played three quarters between the posts, tying a career-high with 11 saves. Freshman Gemma Townsend scored her first career goal, assisted by classmate Esther Pottebaum. The Cardinal combined for 14 shots in the game and earned four penalty corners.
"This was a really tough battle. In the fourth quarter we came out with 11 shots after having only two in the first half, one of those being a great goal, but we had a third quarter slump that Penn State took advantage of," said head coach Roz Ellis. "I would have really loved to see our team perform the whole game as we did in the second and the fourth quarter.
Penn State struck first off a rebound in the sixth minute, but Stanford responded before the half off the stick of Townsend. Anna Ghuliani and Haley Mossmer worked the ball up the right side to Pottebaum, who slotted a pass to Townsend in front of the cage for a tap in. The teams left for the intermission tied at 1-1.
The Nittany Lions found a trio of goals in the third period before the Stanford offense found its groove in the fourth quarter. The Cardinal tallied 11 shots over the final 15 minutes, but the visitors tallied five saves and kept Stanford from adding to the score sheet.
"We had some really great building of the ball and pressing opportunities. There are definitely things we are happy with but we need to clean up our defense," continued Ellis.
Stanford returns to action on Friday, Sept. 8 at 11 a.m. The team's Pride Game will be dedicated to LGBTQIA+ awareness and will be broadcast on Pac-12.com.