Two in Two

STANFORD, Calif. — Following a season-opening comeback win on Friday, Stanford field hockey is back in action for a pair of bouts across two days, starting with a date against American University on Sunday, August 30. First Strike is slated for 11 a.m. PT from Stanford’s Varsity Turf. Stanford closes out the three-game opening weekend slate on Monday, August 31 against Central Michigan at Noon PT. 

FIRST STRIKE

Having started the season at home for the first time since the 2023 campaign, Stanford showed a mix of youthful ingenuity and veteran poise to earn a season-opening win in comeback fashion over the UMass-Lowell on Friday, dispatching the River Hawks 2-1 at Varsity Turf. 

In a game that was dominated by the opposition through the first 30 minutes, Stanford’s late third quarter blitz - highlighted by two goals in 68 seconds - paved the way for the Cardinal’s first win of the season. Following a barrage of pressure in the River Hawk half while a player down, Natalie Hoppe’s strike into the penalty circle found the stick of Ella Ganocy to level the scoreline 1-1 with under five minutes to go in the third. In quick succession, the Cardinal doubled up the River Hawks as Opal Sparling’s cross into the circle tipped off the stick of Star Horlock and slowly past the goal line to push Stanford ahead. With both teams playing physical for every loose ball on the pitch, it was the Cardinal’s game management late in regulation that saw out the remnants of a Jula Proschel yellow card with five minutes to go and secured the 2-1 win. 

Stanford, which posted a strong season barring its results in 2025, returns 14 players from a season ago - including nine seniors - for 2026. The Cardinal, which graduated nine seniors in 2025, sees the return of Fifth-Year Ella Ganocy and Senior Star Horlock to the 2026 squad along with seven newcomers.

Stanford plays host to American for the first time since the 2006 season as the Cardinal has yet to snag a win in the series’ short four-game history. Stanford’s last bout against the Eagles was the lone bout to take place on The Farm in what was a 4-3 overtime win for American. In all four matchups, three have been decided in overtime and none have been decided by more than one goal. 

Stanford’s history against the Chippewas spreads across four decades with the Cardinal leading the all-time series 6-3. Having fallen behind in the series 1-3 through four meetings from 1995 to 2004, Stanford has posted five-straight wins including three-straight shutouts. The two teams last met in Bloomington, Ind., back in 2018 in what was an 8-0 win for Stanford. 

Stanford returns 65% of its offensive production from the 2025 campaign including Natalie Hoppe (4 goals, 2 assists) and Summer Knight-Thompson (3 goals, 2 assists) who sat atop the team leaderboard as freshmen. The Cardinal also returns five players who recorded two assists from a season ago including Esther Pottebaum, Mia Clark and Liv Martin alongside Hoppe and Knight-Thompson. Defensively, Stanford returns seniors Mia Clark and Puja Nanjappa while bringing in sophomore transfer Caroline Richard (Liberty) and freshman Florien Van Tongeren to provide depth.

Sophomore Natalie Hoppe returns for her second season with the Cardinal having led the team in all three scoring categories including a team-high 10 points. Hoppe scored in four games during the campaign to tie for the team lead while posting two game-winning goals including the overtime winner against Boston College and her first collegiate goal in the 1-0 win against JMU.

Having appeared in a career-high 11 games last season and boasting a 3-4 record, Anya Jackson looks poised to have another strong season between the pipes. Jackson totaled 32 saves in her sophomore season while posting three wins including posting a penalty shootout win over No. 16 Louisville that saw her save three attempts. Jackson owns a 1.93 career goals-against average coupled with a .698 career save percentage in 15 games. 

Stanford welcomes seven players on The Farm including a mix of domestic and international talent. Jackie O’Donnell, Grace Essalih and Opal Sparling debut for the Cardinal as a trio of MAX Field Hockey Top 50 recruits including Sparling who ranked inside the Top 10. Also arriving on The Farm, Stanford welcomes highly-touted international recruits in Florien Van Tongeren (The Netherlands), Hannah Cutler (England), and Jula Proschel (Germany) that all have high-level playing experience overseas. 

Stanford squared off against 10 ranked opponents last season - including six in the top-five - across 14 games last season. THe 10 ranked matchups are the most since the 2019 season when Stanford faced 11 Top 25 teams including four ranked inside the top five. Stanford posted a competitive record in its matches against ranked opponents that included four one-goal losses including to No. 7 Michigan, No. 6 Harvard and No. 4 Virginia.