LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A furious second-half comeback fell just short as the Stanford field hockey team fought hard but could not pull off the upset bid, falling 4-3 to the No. 4 Virginia Cavaliers in the opening round of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Field Hockey Tournament on Tuesday evening. Stanford finishes the regular season with a 7-10 record having secured the program’s second bid to the ACC postseason.
"We were very proactive today with changing the channel and understanding the space to attack," said Susan Ewing York Director of Women's Field Hockey head coach Roz Ellis. "That was a shuge thing we focused on from the last time we played them and it resulted in three excellent goals."
In what was a back-and-forth affair, the Cardinal did well to negate the early pressure from Virginia, stopping the first two penalty corners of the afternoon for the opposition. Having dealth with a successful defense on the first corner just minutes into the match, Stanford allowed one bid near the frame from UVA that went wide. The unsuccessful shot was UVA’s only shot of the frame.
Looking to score against the Cavaliers for the first time this season, Stanford opened the scoring just past the five minute mark with Summer Knight-Thompson securing her third goal of the season. Following a plethora of passes to get into the attacking 25-meter mark, Bea Varley ushered in a ball that Knight-Thompson slotted home from inside 10 meters to put the Cardinal ahead, 1-0.
Having taken the lead into the second quarter, Stanford did well to hold the Cavaliers at bay, but a quick siege saw UVA nab three unanswered goals. Just two minutes into the frame, UVA nabbed the game-tying goal before tacking on two more in quick succession to take a 3-1 lead five minutes into the quarter. Stanford, though, fought hard to get back into the match in the final 10 minutes of the half but was unable to find the clinical touch inside the circle to go into the break down, 3-1.
"At halftime we discussed the work rate we needed for our attack and to defend with patience," said Ellis. "Sprinting and working on your feet is hard and that mentality and work rate seperated us."
Stanford, however, refused to lie down in the second half, taking the battle into the Virginia end for the majority of the final 30 minutes. In the third quarter, the Cardinal held fast in its eagerness to cut into the deficit, finding the lone goal of the frame with Nadine Brenninkmeyer’s tally. After a nifty bit of passing along the sideline, Esther Pottebaum slotted a ball inside the circle that Brenninkmeyer latched onto and funneled into the cage to pull Stanford within one goal in the dying embers of the quarter.
The Cardinal, which amassed five shots toward the Virginia cage, forced the Cavaliers into two saves while Brenninkmeyer’s goal served as the lone scoring in the period heading into the fourth.
The offensive onslaught continued for the Cardinal as Stanford looked poised to level the scoreline early in the fourth. However, UVA found paydirt on the counterattack to restore a two-goal lead just two minutes into the final frame.
The Cardinal was unwavering in its efforts to cut into the deficit as Maroussia Walckiers found herself on the scoresheet, pushing the Cardinal within one after finishing off the remnants of a failed penalty corner clearing attempt by the Cavaliers.
Within reach, the Cardinal hemmed UVA in its defending half for nearly the entirety of the fourth quarter, mustering chance after chance toward the cage. Though Stanford’s seven shots in the frame provided trouble for the Cavaliers, Stanford was unable to find the game-tying goal, falling 4-3.
"The seniors have helped me build this program and the underclassmen have stepped up each year," said Ellis. "We are not underdogs. We have made our mark and our possibilities are endless."