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Maddie Hinkley
Field Hockey

2025 Year in Review: Field Hockey

Stanford posts numerous accolades on and off the pitch in second ACC season

STANFORD, Calif. — Returning its deepest roster under fifth-year Susan Ewing York Director of Women’s Field Hockey Roz Ellis, Stanford showed well in its second season in the Atlantic Coast Conference. 

With the inclusion of four impact freshmen and the veteran presence of 10 seniors, the Cardinal earned a second-consecutive berth in the ACC Postseason Tournament while Ellis’ squad reached the seven win mark for the third time in her career on The Farm. Cara Sambeth ended her Stanford career with another All-ACC Second Team and NFHCA Division I All-West Region Second Team nod while freshman Natalie Hoppe led the Cardinal in scoring, becoming the second freshman in the last three seasons to lead the Cardinal in scoring as Stanford went 7-10 on the campaign. 

RECAPPING 2025

Stanford showed strong in its season-opening weekend split in the Chesapeake Bay, battling close with No. 4 Maryland before nabbing its first win of the season with 1-0 result over James Madison in the Conference Cup. Freshman Summer Knight-Thompson was the lone scorer in the match against the Terrapins, becoming the first Cardinal freshman to score in a season-opener since 2019 while Daisy Ford made a career-high 12 saves in the contest which was the most by a Cardinal goalkeeper since 2019. 

Facing James Madison just two afternoons later, Stanford nabbed its first win of the season, taking down the Dukes as Natalie Hoppe scored her first collegiate goal, standing as the game-winner in a Stanford offensive onslaught that saw the Cardinal amass 25 shots while Daisy Ford recorded a three-save shutout. 

The Cardinal returned to The Farm to begin the 2025 home slate with the first of two separate four-game homestands. Stanford showed out in its home opener, dispatching Ball State 6-0 with four different players recording a goal. 

Following the weekend opener, the Cardinal hosted top opposition in No. 6 Harvard taking the Crimson to a penalty shootout. Kate Nemec opened the scoring for the Cardinal in the first, and after two tallies from the visitors, Ella Ganocy nabbed her second collegiate goal to tie things up with less than eight to go in regulation as the Cardinal dropped the contest in the shootout, 3-2. 

Staying strong through the first half of the homestand, the Cardinal secured win number three on the campaign, taking down the Ohio Bobcats with goals in quick succession from Hoppe and Gemma Townsend while Anya Jackson made one save to record her first collegiate win. 

The finale of the four-game ride turned out to be another tightly-contested bout as Stanford took on No. 4 Michigan. Stanford held the lead over the top-five Wolverines heading into the final few moments, but two late tallies snatched the win from the Cardinal as Stanford had to save its first ranked win of the season for another day. 

The Cardinal then ventured out to The Tarheel State for a two-game slate against No. 7 Duke and No. 2 North Carolina. Battling the long trip and some of the best teams in the nation, the Cardinal stood strong in the two-game slate heading back to The Farm in search of its first ACC win of the season. 

With the North Carolina road trip in the rearview, the Cardinal focused on the final four-game home swing of the season. Hosting No. 16 Louisville, the Cardinal would not be denied, dispatching the visiting Cardinals in the shootout to stake a 2-1 win. Jenny O’Grady’s tally in both regulation time and in the shootout, coupled with Anya Jackson’s four saves and three stops in the shootout, the Cardinal snatched its first ACC win of the season and its first ranked win. 

Stanford followed the match against Louisville by hosting two, top-five teams in No. 3 Virginia and No. 5 Syracuse. Against both teams, Stanford did well to limit some of the best offenses in the nation while showing the rest of the conference the Cardinal are here to stay. 

Having fallen to both of its ranked visitors in the middle of the homestand, the Cardinal bookended the four-game slate with a heroic 2-1 overtime win over Boston College that ultimately secured postseason field hockey for Stanford. Despite a late game-tying goal from the Eagles, it was Gemma Townsend’s game-opener two minutes into the match followed by Natalie Hoppe’s overtime dagger that secured the win for the Cardinal and moved Stanford to 2-4 in conference play. 

Following the thriller against Boston College, The Cardinal wrapped up its regular season travel, heading back out to North Carolina to face its ninth ranked opponent in No. 5 Wake Forest before closing out the road swing against Davidson. In the weekend opener, Stanford battled until the end, falling to the Demon Deacons 3-1 before bouncing back with a resounding 4-1 win over the Wildcats. 

The Cardinal returned home a week later, honoring its senior class of 10 student-athletes against UC Davis. Having honored Maroussie Walckiers, Cara Sambeth, Scout Butler, Anna Ghuliani, Chantal Eiwanger, Bella Ganocy, Ella Ganocy, Tottie Taylor, Kendall Dowd and Daisy Ford for their contributions to the Cardinal during their time on the Farm, the contest against the Aggies displayed all of their hard work and dedication. 

Chantal Eiwanger bookended the scoring in the bout against the Aggies, recording her first collegiate brace and setting a new career high in goals with her second and third of the season. Even better, Puja Nanjappa secured her first collegiate goal off of a penalty corner while seniors Kendall Dowd and Daisy Ford recorded a combined shutout in the 3-0 win. 

Following the rout of the Aggies, Stanford headed across The Bay for the regular season finale and a date against the Cal Golden Bears. In another tightly contested game, Stanford - which had secured postseason field hockey at that point - battled hard but was unable to pull out a win to increase its seeding heading into the ACC Tournament.

Locking up the No. 7 seed, Stanford suited up to take on Virginia in what was an instant classic in Louisville, Ky. The Cardinal shocked the Cavaliers out of the gate with Summer Knight-Thompson opening the scoring in the bout just under six minutes into the contest. However, Virginia struck twice three times in the second quarter as the Cardinal went into the halftime break down, 3-1.

Looking at an uphill climb, the Cardinal continued to try and cut into the lead, doing so with a Nadine Brenninkmeyer tally just before the end of the third quarter. Though Virginia struck first in the fourth quarter - restoring its two-goal lead - Stanford’s Maroussia Walckiers put the Cavaliers on the back foot with a goal with 11 minutes left. Though the Cardinal continued to press, outshooting the Cavaliers 7-3 in the final frame, Stanford could not find the elusive game-tying goal, falling in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinal, 4-3. 

Following the season, Cara Sambeth locked up multiple postseason awards for Stanford. Having already been named to All-ACC Second Team, Sambeth was named an NFHCA All-West Region Second Team member and earned Stanford’s first NFHCA DI Collegiate Senior Team nod since 2020. 

LOOKING TOWARD 2026

Bringing in a mix of international and domestic talent, Susan Ewing York Director of Women’s Field Hockey Roz Ellis announced the signing of six new student-athletes for the 2026 squad. Joining the Cardinal in 2026, Stanford welcomes Grace Essalih (Houston, TX), Jackie O’Donnell (Houston, TX) and Opal Sparling (Chester Spring, PA) from the states while adding Florian Van Tongeren (Zwolle, Netherlands), Hannah Cutler (Northumberland, England) and Luka Proschel (Gruenwald, Germany) from abroad that will be sure to make an instant impact on The Farm. “We are incredibly excited to officially welcome our 2026 class,” said Ellis. “We have six coming in that will immediately elevate the tempo, technical quality, and overall competitiveness of our training environment.”

CARDINAL IN THE CLASSROOM

Stanford continued to rack up the postseason awards with numerous academic achievements. The Cardinal boasted 22 student-athletes onto the NFHCA Academic Squad which was two shy of topping the nation. For their efforts in the classroom Daisy Ford and Esther Pottebaum were named NFHCA Scholars of Distinction as both athletes earned the honor for the third and second time in their respective careers. 

The Cardinal also led the way in the ACC with 18 student-athletes garnering All-ACC Academic Team honors. Those who made the list maintained a cumulative 3.0 average for the previous three quarters and participated in 50% of Stanford’s contests.

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

Noa Armelin NFHCA National Academic Squad
Scout Butler

NFHCA National Academic Squad

All-ACC Academic 
Mia Clark

NFHCA National Academic Squad

All-ACC Academic 

Kendall Dowd

 NFHCA National Academic Squad
Chantal Eiwanger

NFHCA National Academic Squad

All-ACC Academic 
Daisy Ford

NFHCA National Academic Squad

NFHCA Scholar of Distinction

All-ACC Academic 
Bella Ganocy NFHCA National Academic Squad
Ella Ganocy

NFHCA National Academic Squad

All-ACC Academic 

Anna Ghuliani

NFHCA National Academic Squad

All-ACC Academic 
Natalie Hoppe NFHCA National Academic Squad
Anya Jackson

NFHCA National Academic Squad

All-ACC Academic 
Hailey King NFHCA National Academic Squad
Summer Knight-Thompson NFHCA National Academic Squad
Liv Martin

NFHCA National Academic Squad

All-ACC Academic 
Puja Nanjappa

NFHCA National Academic Squad

All-ACC Academic 
Kate Nemec

NFHCA National Academic Squad

All-ACC Academic 
Tyla Ozgen NFHCA National Academic Squad
Esther Pottebaum

NFHCA National Academic Squad

NFHCA Scholar of Distinction

All-ACC Academic 
Cara Sambeth

NFHCA National Academic Squad

All-ACC Academic 
Tottie Taylor

NFHCA National Academic Squad

All-ACC Academic 
Gemma Townsend

All-ACC Academic 
Bea Varley

NFHCA National Academic Squad

All-ACC Academic 
Maroussia Walckiers

NFHCA National Academic Squad

All-ACC Academic