STANFORD, Calif. — Senior Chantal Eiwanger’s brace headlined a monumental day as the Stanford field hockey team closed out its 2025 home slate with a Senior Day victory over UC Davis on Sunday. With the win, Stanford ends the home schedule with a 5-4 record at Varsity turf with one final regular season tune-up remaining.
“I am really excited and thrilled for our seniors,” said Susan Ewing York Director of Women’s Field Hockey head coach Roz Ellis. “Davis has been a foe of ours and our seniors deserved the opportunity to put their skills on display and to celebrate how they play the game with the Stanford principles.”
Eiwanger, who was one of 10 seniors recognized on Sunday, started the scoring early by earning her second goal in as many games just over two minutes into the contest. With Stanford on the front foot to begin regulation, the Cardinal attack maneuvered into the final 25 with Eiwanger finding space inside the circle to slot home her second goal of the season to give Stanford an early 1-0 lead.
With the lead, the Cardinal continued to barrage the UC Davis cage, firing off six shots inside the first 15 minutes with the Aggies coming up with one save. Defensively, the Cardinal kept the visitors at bay, negating any opportunity toward the goal of senior Kendall Dowd, who made her first start of the season.
Looking to close out the half with another goal, the Cardinal faced stiff opposition from its visitors, as Stanford registered only one shot toward the cage that the Aggies dealt with handedly. On the opposing end, Stanford’s impending offense negated any stint of a Davis attack as the Cardinal took a 1-0 lead heading into the halftime break.
With the elements playing a factor after halftime, the Cardinal ripped into the Aggie defense, nabbing the lone goal of the frame following the offensive onslaught. With the Cardinal in full control in the third quarter, Puja Nanjappa earned her first collegiate goal with the junior finishing off a feed from Natalie Hoppe into the bottom corner to double the Stanford advantage with under five minutes to go. Stanford continued to hem the Aggies in their own end for the remainder of the frame with Nanjappa’s one-timer being the lone shot out of 12 in the quarter to find the back of the cage.
“Having multiple goal-scorers is a valuable threat,” said Ellis. “I am really proud of Chantal for her taking the risks with her shot and super proud of Puja because of her efforts in framing the goal and earning her first.”
Having weathered the Aggie defense down, Stanford found its insurance goal nearing the halfway mark of the fourth quarter with Eiwanger finding her second goal of the game just over five minutes in. Following an Aggie turnover in the midfield, Eiwanger received a feed into the circle and deked into space before slicing home a shot to push the Stanford lead to three.
With time winding down, Stafnord continued holding its opponents at bay, ending the afternoon by blanking the Aggies on the scoresheet with Kendall Dowd and Daisy Ford splitting the shutout on Senior Day en route to a 3-0 victory.
“It was a priority to get our bench rolling and have them put forth the same energy and tempo leading into the final stretch of games,” said Ellis. “It was important to set us up for success heading into Cal and later toward ACC’s.”
Stanford and its 10 seniors - Scout Butler, Anna Ghuliani, Chantal Eiwanger, Ella Ganocy, Bella Ganocy, Maroussia Walckiers, Tottie Taylor, Cara Sambeth, Daisy Ford and Kendall Dowd - are back in action for the final regular season game of the season next Thursday, October 26 as the Cardinal take on Cal in a battle for ACC Tournament positioning. First strike from Berkeley, Calif. is slated for 6 p.m. PT.