STANFORD, Calif. — In a match that spanned nearly three hours, Anya Jackson and Jenny O’Grady powered the Stanford field hockey team to its first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) win of the season, sending the Cardinal past No. 16 Louisville on Friday night in a penalty shootout, 2-1.
“You could feel the energy going into the shootout that there was not an option to lose,” said Susan Ewing York Director of Women’s Field Hockey head coach Roz Ellis. “We asked everyone to be brave and go for it. You have to take risks to get what you want.”
With neither side able to edge the other through 80 minutes of regulation and overtime action, a penalty shootout ensued at Varsity Turf as the remnants of Stanford’s loss to Harvard just a few weeks ago still lingered on the pitchside. However, Stanford exorcised its shootout demons with Jackson leading the way.
Having had her first shootout save overturned via review, Jackson saved the next opportunity for the Cardinals to put Stanford in a chance to take the shootout lead. Offensively, Cara Sambeth slotted home the first chance for the Cardinal before O’Grady nabbed the decisive blow in round two, ushering a between-the-legs shot through the wickets of the Louisville goalkeeper to put the Cardinal up 2-1 through two rounds.
The Cardinal started Friday’s affair on the front foot, learning from its trip to North Carolina the week prior by immediately pressuring Louisville in the early going. With just under five to play in the opening frame, it was Stanford’s penalty corner attack that broke through as Jenny O’Grady found her first goal of the season, having tipped a shot from Cara Sambeth on the ensuing insert.
“That corner we haven’t used for a while and we set that one up real nice,” said Ellis. “We put a lot of time into our set pieces so getting that one to go feels really good.”
Having earned the 1-0 lead through 15 minutes, Stanford held strong in the second but could not hold off the Louisville attack as the Cardinal conceded a goal on a penalty corner halfway through the quarter. Though Louisville outshot the Cardinal 5-1 in the frame, Jackson and her defense held strong as the former earned three saves in the frame to hit the halftime break deadlocked 1-1.
The final 30 minutes saw both sides desperately try to work their way through the middle 50 but could not find the final pass toward a scoring chance. Stanford outshot the Cardinals 2-1 in the final half, but could not muster one through as the teams hit the end of regulation tied, 1-1.
In the overtime period, all bets were off as both sides funneled three shots toward goal. However, both goalkeepers were up to the challenge to negate either side from earning the sudden-death goal as the scoreline remained tied. Feeling the weariness of the midday heat, the second overtime saw neither side push toward a decisive chance, ushering in the shootout as the Californian sun set on the evening.
With Stanford boasting the 2-1 lead through two rounds of the shootout, Jackson - who had earned her lone loss of the season in the shootout loss to the Crimson - stepped up between the posts and negated two more of Louisville’s chances, totalling three saves in the shootout before Louisville’s final chance in the shootout went wide of the far post, sealing Stanford’s shootout win via a 2-1 aggregate.
“I was impressed with our team today with our energy and our fifty-fifty ball mentality,” said Ellis. “What got us success today was our commitment to choosing the correct phase of the game. When we wanted to play fast, everyone committed, and when we played possession, everyone was in the right place.”
Stanford is back in action on Sunday, September 28 as it hosts No. 3 Virginia. First strike from Varsity Turf is slated for noon.