STANFORD, Calif. — Following a 2-1 win on Friday, Stanford closes its four-game homestand at Varsity Turf on Sunday, September 14 as the Cardinal take on the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines for alumni day. First strike is scheduled for noon.
FIRST PASS-BACK
Stanford opened the weekend slate on Friday with a gritty 2-1 win over Ohio in the penultimate match of the homestand. Following an early strike from the visitors, Natalie Hoppe nabbed the final goal of the first quarter to tie the game heading into the second quarter. Just two minutes later, Gemma Townsend nabbed her first goal in her first game in almost 700 days early in the second quarter to give Stanford the lead. Having hemmed Ohio for a majority of the game in its own end, Anya Jackson and her defensive corps held strong to keep the Bobcats at bay to earn the 2-1 win.
Following her tally against the Bobcats, Natalie Hoppe is tied alongside Kate Nemec, Liv Martin and Nadine Brenninkmeyer for the team lead in goals with all four cashing in twice this season. Both Martin and Brenninkmeyer recorded their first career, multi-goal games in the win over Ball State while all four have set new single-season highs in goals with two so far through five games.Mia Clark has lended a helping hand twice this season to lead the Cardinal in that department following her assist on Ella Ganocy’s second career goal last Sunday. In total, 12 Cardinal have recorded a point this season.
Between the pipes, all three Stanford goalkeepers have made an appearance this season with Anya Jackson making her first start of the season and earning the win on Friday. Daisy Ford leads the Cardinal with her conference-leading 22 saves and 5.50 saves per game. Ford currently holds a .815 save percentage and a 1.28 goals-against average in four starts this season. Kendall Dowd made her season debut in the win over Ball State earning a combined shutout while making two saves in the win over the Cardinals. Anya Jackson, who made one save in the win over Ohio, owns a .860 goals-against average and a .500 save percentage with a 1-1 record.
Stanford has outscored its opponents 11-3 over the last four games and has only given up two goals from the run of play in those contests. Overall, Stanford owns a +6 scoring margin through five games and has limited the opposition to four goals during game action with the other two goals coming from penalty strokes.
Before Harvard’s tally in the third quarter on Sunday, Stanford owned a shutout streak of 185:15 of game action from goals in the run of play. Stanford last earned consecutive shutouts in the 2024 season with wins on the road over UC Davis (1-0) and Bellarmine (4-0) in mid-September. Stanford has earned consecutive shutouts during a season in three of the last four seasons.
Stanford has outshot its opponents in shots on goal this season 40-31 and has out-earned the opposition in penalty corners 31-22 through four games this season. Stanford’s most shots on goal and penalty corners earned this season came in the 1-0 win over James Madison with 12 shots on goal and 14 penalty corners, respectively.