STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford finishes the first part of a two-week homestand this Sunday as it welcomes the Harvard Crimson to The Farm for a Sunday matinee on September 7. Opening pass-back from Varsity Field Hockey Turf is slated for 11 a.m. PT.
FIRST PASS-BACK
Stanford concludes the weekend having dispatched Ball State on Friday afternoon, 6-0. The Cardinal - which bounced back from a lackluster first quarter - had four different goal scorers on the day while Daisy Ford and Kendall Dowd combined for Stanford’s second-consecutive shutout.
Following Kate Nemec’s season-opening tally to kickstart the Cardinal run, Nadine Brennikmeyer and Liv Martin both recorded consecutive braces to push the Cardinal to an insurmountable lead. Following up in the scoring department, Maroussia Walckiers nabbed her first goal of the season 30 seconds following Martin’s second of the day to give Stanford the 6-0 win. The six goals were the most the Cardinal has put up since a 6-3 home win over Richmond on September 8, 2023.
Having grabbed four-point performances, both Brenninkmeyer and Martin lead the Cardinal in scoring and points with two goals and four points each. Mia Clark, Esther Pottebaum and Ella Ganocy all recorded assists in the win over the Cardinal as they sit in a four-way tie in the helper category with Scout Butler who earned an assist on Summer Knight-Thompson’s first collegiate goal in the game against Maryland. Overall, Stanford has 10 players who have recorded a point this season.
Defensively, Daisy Ford backstops the Cardinal having amassed a 2-1 record following a 45 minute performance on Thursday, adding another save to her 16 on the year. Ford currently owns a 1.09 goals-against average and .842 save percentage to start the year. With her career-high 12 saves against the Terps, Ford became the first Stanford goalkeeper to record at least 12 saves in a game since the 2019-20 season when Kelsey Bing stopped 12 shots against Louisville on October 15, 2019. Ford currently leads the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in saves this season heading into the weekend.
Kendall Dowd also earned her first action of the season, and first minutes since facing Ball State last season, on Thursday recording 2 saves in the fourth quarter to preserve the shutout for Stanford. She currently holds a 1.79 goals-against average and .731 save percentage.
Summer Knight-Thompson, who was named to the NFHCA Collegiate Watchlist, became the first freshman to score in a season-opener since Rose Winter did so in the 2019 season-opener in what was a 4-3 shootout loss to #15 Northwestern (8/30/2019).
BAND ON THE RUN
Stanford currently boasts a two-game shutout streak and has held its opponents scoreless for 138:12 of game action. Stanford’s last goal allowed was to Maryland’s Josie Hollamon, which came from a penalty stroke on August 29. Stanford has not given up a goal from the run of play in 150:55 of game action, last surrendering a goal late in the first half against the Terps off of a continued penalty corner.
The Cardinal has outscored its opponents 7-0 over the last two games, outshooting the opposition 51-14 during that time including 22-6 in shots on goal. Stanford has also out-earned the opposition in penalty corners during that span at a line of 17-6, including 14 in the win over James Madison.
Stanford’s 26 shot attempts on Thursday ties the most in a single game since March 29, 2021 when the Cardinal amassed 26 shot attempts in a 3-0 win on the road over UC Davis.
In the win over Ball State, Stanford twice earned goals within 30 seconds of each other including Nadine Brenninkmeyer’s second- and Liv Martin’s first of the afternoon which came 17 seconds apart. Stanford had not had consecutive scores within 30 seconds of each other since November 1, 2019 when Corinne Zanolli and Emma Alderton scored 28 seconds apart in a 5-0 home win over UC Davis. 17 seconds between goals is the least time between goals since at least the 2018 season.