Comeback Bid Stalls at Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Anya Jackson’s nine saves provided the defensive poise but a late comeback bid was cut short as the Stanford field hockey team fell to No. 16 Louisville on Sunday in its third Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) bout of the season, 1-0.  

Stanford (7-4, 0-3 ACC) started the stronger of the two-sides, earning the lion’s share of possession through the early going. However, Louisville (8-4, 3-1 ACC) found its footing late in the frame, earning the lone four shots on goal. For the Cardinal, though, Jackson was equal to every bid including stymying a point-blank chance late in the quarter to force the game into a scoreless tie through 15 minutes. 

With the hosts having earned the final chance of the opening frame, Stanford stormed out in the second quarter, putting the Cardinals under pressure from the jump. Kate Nemec earned Stanford’s best chance of the half, taking hold of a Louisville turnover before having her point-black bid stopped just minutes into the second quarter. 

Both teams, however, continued the back-and-forth affair, with each side tallying one corner during quarter. With both teams boasting stout penalty corner defenses, neither side found the breakthrough as the score remained deadlocked 0-0 into the halftime break. 

With the first half amassing to a war of attrition, the action increased to start the second half as both sides looked poised to find the opening tally. With the two teams trading penalty corners midway through the frame, the hosts eventually found the opening goal, tallying off a penalty corner just moments after Jackson grabbed her second high-quality chance save of the afternoon. 

With Louisville taking the 1-0 lead, Stanford continued to threaten well into the quarter break, however, Stanford’s lone bid of the third was steered aside as the Cardinal hit the final quarter traliling by one. 

Stanford continued battling well into the fourth quarter, equaling the hosts on shots while earning the only two corners of the frame. Unfortunately, the Cardinal could not find the equalizing bid as time expired on the 1-0 defeat. 

Stanford is back in action on The Farm to continue ACC play, hosting Duke and Wake Forest next weekend. First strike for Student Night against the Blue Devils on Friday, October 9 is slated for 6 p.m.