STANFORD, Calif. — Mia Clark’s first goal of the season sparked a furious second-half rally, but the eventual comeback was thwarted as the Stanford field hockey team fell to No. 5 Syracuse in the front half of an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) weekend split from Varsity Turf, 2-1, on Friday night.
“You saw evidence of what we have been working on these past two weeks,” said Susan Ewing York Director of Women’s Field Hockey Roz Ellis. “The hardest thing to do is to close the final one-percent of the margin but we are right there and I am proud of our team’s performance today.”
Friday’s bout had fireworks early as the Orange took an early lead just under six minutes into the opening frame. Having earned the first - and lone penalty corner of the half - the Orange struck the back of the cage with Hattie Madden finishing off a feed from Bo Madden after an initial try from the penalty corner was stopped by Daisy Ford just 5:08 into the contest.
Following the goal, The Cardinal hunkered down defensively as the battle between the attacking 25-meter marks turned into a stalemate. With neither side having found the back of the cage, Stanford’s lone try nearly found a deflection in front as Maroussia Walckiers slotted one toward Bella Ganocy, who was making her first appearance of the season, that barely missed the senior’s stick and went wide.
In the second half, the Cardinal took it to one of the nation’s premier teams, after both sides took out their starting goalkeepers, looking for a spark. Stanford, though, found the first of the fireworks in the half by earning its first of two penalty corners in the quarter. On the ensuing try, Natalie Hoppe’s insert found the stick-stop of Jenny O’Grady which allowed Clark to lineup and fire a shot that went straight past Tane King in goal for the Orange to level the scoreline, 1-1, only five minutes into the half.
However, Stanford’s lead was short lived as the Orange regained the lead two minutes later on a penalty corner conversion to take the 2-1 lead. Though the Cardinal was outshot in the frame, Stanford’s defensive posture held strong following the lone Orange strike as the period ended with the visitors heading into the final frame up 2-1.
“The biggest takeaway for us is that we need to be sharper on the PCD,” said Ellis. “We need to have our sticks lower and be more ready when the ball enters the circle.”
In the fourth, it was all Stanford from the jump as the Cardinal cornered the Orange in its own half for most of the frame. For its efforts, the Cardinal nabbed two penalty corners in the fourth, but a clinical defensive posture from the Orange negated the Stanford threat through 10 minutes of the frame as Stanford’s best chance was saved off the line by a Syracuse defender.
Looking for the equalizer, Stanford spent the remaining five minutes with 11 field players after Anya Jackson was pulled, leaving the Stanford cage empty. Having stout defense through a majority of the game, Stanford’s defense fueled its offensive presence leading to its best chance to tie the scoreline.
With just minutes to go, Cara Sambeth threaded a nearly 30-meter pass to the stick of Walckiers who entered the penalty circle and nearly found herself through on the Orange goalkeeper. However, her shot from meters away was saved by Syracuse as the Cardinal could not find the final finishing touch, falling by a score of 2-1.
“We’re on the right path and on the right track,” said Ellis. “There is no other option. We’re going to keep fighting for it.”
Stanford is back in action on Sunday, October 12, hosting Boston College for Most Valuable Professor and Fan Appreciation Day. First strike from Varsity Turf is slated for 2 p.m. PT.