STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford field hockey is back in action this weekend for Senior Day, hosting UC Davis on Sunday, October 26 at Varsity Turf. First strike is slated for 1 p.m.
FIRST STRIKE
Stanford (6-8, 2-5 ACC) heads into the weekend standalone following a 1-1 weekend in North Carolina last week, falling to No. 5 Wake Forest, 3-1, on Friday before defeating the Davidson Wildcats, 4-1, on Sunday. Against Wake, the Cardinal fought hard until the waning moments after the Demon Deacons took a 3-0 lead into the final quarter. Though Stanford was the aggressor in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter, Gemma Townsend’s third goal of the season was not enough to fuel the comeback as the Cardinal fell, 3-1.
Turning the tide, however, the Cardinal bounced back in dominant fashion in Sunday’s contest with four different goal-scorer’s leading the charge in a 4-1 win. Stanford got the scoring bug early with Chantal Eiwanger slotting home the game-opening goal in the first 10 minutes while Nadine Brenninkmeyer joined in on the action with a top-shelf tally to double the Stanford lead. The Cardinal continued the first-half barrage with Cara Sambeth’s first of the season to take a three goal lead heading into halftime. Though Davidson snatched the shutout bid from Stanford’s Anya Jackson via a penalty stroke goal, the Cardinal put the finishing touches on the match with a Mia Clark penalty corner tally to earn the 4-1 win.
With Gemma Townsend and Nadine Brenninkmeyer finding the back of the cage, Stanford currently had four players tied for the team lead in goals this season with Townsend and Brenninkmeyer standing alongside Kate Nemec and Natalie Hoppe. However, Hoppe stands alone for the team lead in points with seven on the season via a 3-1-7 line. Stanford currently also holds a four-way tie for the team lead in assists following the weekend with Mia Clark, Cara Sambeth, Liv Martin and Summer Knight-Thompson all nabbing two assists on the campaign.
Defensively, Stanford is led in minutes by Scout Butler who serves as one of three Cardinal to have started every game this season (Mia Clark and Maroussia Walckiers). Butler leads the squad with 763 minutes registered while Hoppe sits second with 670. Following Hoppe is Cara Sambeth and Mia Clark who have 662 and 638 minutes, respectively, with Clark registering the lone defensive save this season for the Cardinal.
Between the posts, Daisy Ford and Anya Jackson have both split time in recent weeks with Jackson recording the decision in Sunday’s win over the Wildcats. Jackson, who now owns a 3-2 record this season in four starts across nine appearances. Jackson holds a 1.70 goals-against average coupled with a .725 save percentage heading into the weekend. Ford, however, owns a 3-6 record in 10 starts this season as she still leads the conference in saves per game at 3.80. Ford holds a 2.27 goals-against average coupled with a .679 save percentage.
Stanford currently sits seventh in the ACC standings with one conference game remaining for the Cardinal. Having dispatched both Louisville and Boston College, Stanford has clinched a second berth in the ACC Field Hockey Tournament. The Cardinal can finish as high as sixth in the overall standings barring other results.
Having squared off against No. 5 Wake Forest last Friday, Stanford has played nine ranked opponents - including five in the top-five - in 13 games this season. The nine ranked matchups this season is the most since the 2019 season when the Cardinal faced 11 Top-25 teams including four in the top-five.