STANFORD, Calif. — Natalie Hoppe’s third collegiate goal bookended the scoring for Stanford field hockey as the Cardinal shocked Boston College in overtime on Sunday at Varsity Turf, 2-1.
“Being in this position before, the difference today was that we drew blood first,” said Susan Ewing York Director of Women’s Field Hockey head coach Roz Ellis. “We maintained that lead the whole game but we do also know that we need to do some digging into closing games out.”
Nearly a full game prior, the Cardinal launched out of the gates and took a stranglehold on the match as Gemma Townsend rifled home her second goal of the season. Just under two minutes into the match, Townsend knifed through the Eagles defense as slashed home a shot that was later confirmed via video review to put Stanford on top early, 1-0.
“Gemma came into the game hungry and that she wanted to score,” said Ellis. “Having multiple goal scorers makes it hard to play against us and also having Natalie emerge as a scoring threat has helped us greatly.”
Stanford, though, continued to act as the aggressor in the opening frame, rifling two shots including Townsend’s tally as the Cardinal hemmed the Eagles in their own half for a majority of the quarter. However, Boston College did not go away quietly.
In the second quarter, the Eagles fully stretched the attack, earning multiple opportunities toward the Stanford cage. However, Daisy Ford and her defense was quick to act as the Eagles failed to muster any effort toward Ford as the Cardinal defense combined to shy away six shots and three penalty corners to take a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
Both sides, however, continued to grapple with each other in the substitution battle as Anya Jackson made her way between the pipes for the Cardinal to start the second with the Eagles countering with their own change in goalkeeper. The third quarter though, saw most of the action toward Jackson who stepped up to make two saves in the frame to keep the scoreline in favor of the Cardinal.
Heading into the fourth quarter, Boston College continued to chip away at the Stanford defense, earning its final two penalty corners of the afternoon. Having kept the Eagles at bay through the first 59 minutes of game action, the Cardinal looked to try and stop one final penalty corner attempt for the visitors. However, some nifty passes inside the circle found an Eagle stick in front that sent the ball past Jackson and into the cage to level the scoreline as the final buzzer sounded moments later.
In the overtime frame, both sides had their initial opportunities. However, it was Stanford who found the clinical touch just over two minutes into the extra frame as Hoppe deked into the circle and rifled a near-side shot past the Boston College goalkeeper to give Stanford the 2-1 overtime win.
“I am proud of the team for getting punched like that and finding a win, that’s tough to do,” said Ellis. “That shows the growth of this team that we can fight right back and you can never put us down.”
Stanford is back in action next week for a pair of clashes in North Carolina. Stanford faces off against Wake Forest on Friday, October 17 at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT before closing the weekend at Davidson on Sunday, October 19 at 1 p.m. ET//10 a.m. PT.