Weekend Ends Against No. 8 Wake Forest

STANFORD, Calif. — Having secured the highest ranked win in over 25 years with an overtime win over No. 3 Duke on Friday night, Stanford field hockey returns to Varsity Turf to complete the weekend Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) slate on Sunday, October 11 as the Cardinal hosts No. 8 Wake Forest. First strike for Fan Appreciation Day against the Demon Deacons is slated for Noon PT. 

FIRST STRIKE

Stanford completes the pair of ranked, weekend matchups having secured the best win in the Roz Ellis era as the Cardinal downed No. 3 Duke in overtime on Friday, 3-2. The Cardinal bookended the scoring on the evening with Mia Clark and Puja Nanjappa securing their first goals of the season while Bea Varley’s second tally of the campaign 71 seconds into overtime proved gave Stanford its highest ranked win since 2001. 

Clark opened the scoring just under a minute into the contest, securing her first goal of the campaign off an attacking penalty corner to give the Cardinal a 1-0 lead. However, Duke found the next two tallies, earning a conversion from a penalty stroke in the second quarter before taking the lead in the third off a Stanford turnover inside its own 25-meter end. 

Stanford, though, struck paydirt early in the fourth with Nanjappa’s first of the season taking a deflection off a Duke defender to level the scoreline and secure an extra frame of hockey. In the overtime frame, Anya Jackson secured her 10th and final save of the night to deny the Blue Devils early bid before the Stanford counterattack secured the win as Gemma Townsend knifed through the Duke defense before finding Bea Varley for the game-winning one-timer to secure the first ACC win of the season for the Cardinal. 

Star Horlock continues to lead the Cardinal in both goals and points this season after snatching a brace in the win over UC Davis in September. Horlock’s six goals and 13 points tie her career-high in both categories as the senior returns to Stanford following international duty last season. Jenny O’Grady slots second on the squad in goals with five on the season after slotting home the game-opening goal in the bout against Virginia. The five goals sets a new career-high as the junior has tallied in two of the last four games. 

Natalie Hoppe continues to lead the team in helpers with a career-high six on the campaign while Liv Martin claims second on the team following an assist on Clark’s tally against Duke on Friday. In total, 15 Cardinal have recorded a point while 12 players have secured a goal including eight who have scored multiple times this season.

Defensively, Puja Nanjappa has started all 12 games to lead the Cardinal and is second on the team in minutes played with 594. Natalie Hoppe slots first on the squad in minutes with 638 having started all 11 games she has appeared in. Stanford’s penalty corner defense has showed strong this season as the Cardinal is 46-for-57 on penalty corner clearances while Stanford’s PCA has converted on nine out of 47 attempts.

Between the posts, Anya Jackson has earned the start and decision in each of the 12 games this season, recording her first collegiate shutout in the win over Holy Cross earlier this season. Jackson has posted a new career high in wins (8) while recording a 2.00 goals-against average coupled with a .750 save percentage. Jackson earned a career-high 12 saves in the loss to Northwestern, becoming the third goalkeeper to record 12 saves in a game since the 2019 season (Kelsey Bing: 2019, Daisy Ford: 2025).

Stanford’s bout against the Deacs is the 10th all-time meeting between the two sides and third-straight dating back to 2024. Wake Forest currently holds a 6-3 record in the series but Stanford has taken three of the last five meetings dating back to 2010. The Deacs took last season’s meeting in Winston Salem, 3-1, while Stanford boasts a win in the last meeting on The Farm back in 2024 in what was a 1-0 triumph for the Cardinal.