STANFORD, Calif. — On the strength of two goals from unlikely sources, the Stanford field hockey team earned its third win over Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC) opposition as it downed the Ohio Bobcats at Varsity Turf on Friday afternoon, 2-1.
“I liked how Ohio attacked us but we know that today was not good enough for us,” said head coach Roz Ellis. “I am happy for the rotations we made and a win is a win, but we know we have to be better.”
Stanford, which has had its ups and downs to begin games this season, stumbled out of the gates in Friday’s affair as Ohio immediately stormed out as the aggressor. Having earned the first rush chance of the game, the Bobcats found the game’s opening goal in the first four minutes with Sasha Dikotla slotting the visitors in front.
Stanford, though, came back determined to knot the leveling chance in the following moments. However, Ohio kept the Cardinal at bay for a majority of the frame, until its final moments.
Having enjoyed penalty corner success against Harvard last weekend, Stanford’s penalty corner attack once again found paydirt with under a minute to play in the frame. Following Natalie Hoppe’s insert, a set play from the top of the circle saw Mia Clark funnel a pass back to Hoppe along the near post that she swept past the Bobcat defense for her second goal of the season as the teams sat tied after one.
With the Stanford offense employing a "blitzkrieg-style” offense in the last few games, the Cardinal needed only 62 seconds to pull ahead inside the second quarter with a goal from one of the Cardinal’s biggest storylines.
In her first game in 684 days, Gemma Townsend made her mark on Stanford’s penultimate match of the September homestand, netting her first goal in her season-debut, hitting the pitch in a remarkable fashion for the first time since October 29, 2023.
With the Cardinal streaking along the flank, Summer Knight-Thompson maneuvered her way through the Bobcat defense and sent a bouncing pass toward the Ohio goal. Needing just the slightest of deflections, Townsend got her stick just in front of her defender to send the ball into the back of the cage and give the Cardinal a 2-1 lead.
“The play with Natalie we have been training for a while so we are happy to see that one succeed,” said Ellis. “Gemma has been waiting to play for so long and seeing her get the game-winner after all the surgeries and rehab is truly special.”
With both teams searching for what could have been a monstrous goal, it was Stanford’s lone shot from Townsend that made its way into the back of the cage as the possession battle from both sides ushered in the halftime whistle with the Cardinal leading, 2-1.
Knowing Ohio would threaten, the Cardinal limited the Bobcats to zero shots on goal in the third quarter as Anya Jackson - who made her first start of the season - commanded her defense with poise to negate any spell of pressure from the visitors. On the other side, Stanford continued to threaten, forcing Ohio into two saves on three shots in the frame as the Cardinal kept its 2-1 lead.
“I liked how our defense started digging into their teammates and holding each other accountable,” said Ellis. “When things aren’t going well, they push each other to be better and support each other which has helped us lately.”
However, the fourth quarter saw Ohio climb back into the match, putting the Cardinal under pressure along the flanks. Having allowed the first goal of the afternoon early in the first, the Cardinal learned from its mistakes and limited Ohio’s press and counterattack to scraps, ultimately holding the Bobcats to zero shots on goal in the final three quarters as Townsend’s goal stood as the game-winner on an eventful afternoon at Varsity Turf.