STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford field hockey heads back out on the road this week, beginning the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) portion of the 2025 campaign with a trip to The Tarheel State, taking on Duke and North Carolina on Friday, September 19 and Sunday, September 21. First strike against the Blue Devils is slated for 5 p.m. ET/ 2 p.m. PT while Sunday’s matchup is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.
FIRST STRIKE
Stanford enters the weekend 3-3 after a third-consecutive 1-1 weekend to open the campaign. The Cardinal took down its third Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC) opponent on Friday with a 2-1 win over Ohio at Varsity turf in the penultimate match of a four-game home stand. Following an early strike from the Bobcats, Natalie Hoppe’s late first quarter goal and Gemma Townsend’s tally just two minutes later solidified a successful start to the weekend for Stanford as the Cardinal held on to the one-goal win.
In Sunday’s weekend finale, Stanford battled hard against the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines, playing nearly 52 minutes of perfect hockey and earning a 2-1 lead - courtesy of goals from Maroussia Walckiers and Kate Nemec - in the waning stages of the afternoon. However, Michigan’s penalty corner tally with just over a minute left drew them level before a last-ditch effort from the Wolverines resulted in a goal with eight seconds left as Michigan snatched a 3-2 win.
Following her third goal in the last four games, Kate Nemec leads the Stanford offense with three goals in the season in six matches. Nemec, who had potted just one goal in 32 games heading into the season, has set a new career-high in goals (3) and points (6). Elsewhere offensively, Liv Martin, Nadine Brenninkmeyer, Natalie Hoppe, and Maroussia Walckiers sit tied for second on the team in goals with all four earning two this season. Martin currently sits second on the team in points following an assist on Hoppe’s second of the season against Michigan.
Both Liv Martin and Nadine Brenninkmeyer recorded their first multi-goal games in the win over Ball State two weeks ago as both have set new career-highs in goals with two on the campaign. In total, 12 players have recorded a point this season for the Cardinal.
Defensively, Stanford is led by its two backers in Scout Butler and Cara Sambeth who sit near the team-lead in minutes played this season with 339 and 253, respectively. Butler leads the team in shots this season with 13 so far while earning one helper to her stat line while Sambeth has accrued one point on her tab courtesy of one assist. In the midfield, Natalie Hoppe sits second on the team in minutes played at 310 and currently leads all freshman scoring with two goals and four points in six appearances.
Anya Jackson and Daisy Ford have seen a majority of the action this season for the Cardinal with the latter earning five starts on the year. Jackson made her season debut in the shootout against Harvard and earned the start in the win over Ohio on Friday earning one save on three shots faced as she owns a 1-1 record in 2025. Ford, who made a career-high 12 saves in the loss to Maryland, owns a 2-2 record this season following the weekend, boasting a .758 save percentage and a 1.63 goals-against average. Ford currently leads the conference in saves (25) and saves per game (5.00).
Stanford enters this weekend’s contest in its second season in the ACC, having earned a postseason berth in the conference tournament last season with a 2-6 conference record. The Cardinal earned wins over Cal and Wake Forest in 2024 before falling to No. 3-seeded Boston College, 3-2, in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals.
Heading into the weekend, Stanford owns the ninth-hardest schedule in NCAA DI field hockey and the third-hardest in the ACC. Barring the game against Michigan, Stanford takes on five opponents currently ranked in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Poll in the next six games including this week’s opponents in Duke and North Carolina who rank No. 2 and No. 7, respectively.