Postseason Starts Against The Tar Heels

STANFORD, Calif. — Following a big win on Thursday night over Bay Area rival No. 17 Cal, Stanford field hockey returns to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Field Hockey Championship this week, taking on the No. 1-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels on Tuesday, November 3. First strike from UNC’s Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., is slated for 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT. 

FIRST STRIKE

Stanford is back in the ACC tournament following a thrilling 2-1 win over the No. 17 Golden Bears on Thursday. The Cardinal wasted no time opening the scoring in Thursday’s affair, tallying the game-opening goal just over two minutes into the contest with Star Horlock finding Gemma Townsend in stride who slotted home a one-on-one chance. Stanford doubled the advantage late in the second quarter with Horlock swiping home a feed off a penalty corner as the Cardinal took a 2-0 lead into halftime. 

Cal, however, attempted to forge a comeback early in the second half, cutting the deficit in half on a penalty corner conversion early in the third quarter. However, Stanford’s penalty corner defense showed strong the remainder of the way, clearing six of seven corners awarded to the Golden Bears while Anya Jackson tallied six saves in the 2-1 win. 

Star Horlock continues to lead the Cardinal in both goals and points this season after scoring for the fourth time in the last five games with a goal against Cal. Her 10 goals and 23 points set career-high’s in those categories as the senior returns to Stanford following international duty last season. Jenny O’Grady slots second on the squad in goals with a career-high five on the season while Kate Nemec joins Summer Knight-Thompson and Ella Ganocy with three on the campaign following her tally against the Aggies in October.

Natalie Hoppe continues to lead the team in helpers with a career-high seven on the campaign while Liv Martin and Horlock vie for second on the team with three on the campaign. In total, 15 Cardinal have recorded a point while 13 players have secured a goal including 10 who have scored multiple times this season.

Defensively, Puja Nanjappa has started all 17 games to lead the Cardinal and is second on the team in minutes played with 856. Natalie Hoppe slots first on the squad in minutes with 938 having started all 16 games she has appeared in. Stanford’s penalty corner defense has shown strong this season as the Cardinal is 60-for-79 on penalty corner clearances while Stanford’s PCA has converted on 11 out of 65 attempts.

Between the posts, Anya Jackson has earned the start and decision in each of the 17 games this season, recording her second collegiate shutout in the win over UC Davis three weeks ago. Jackson has posted a new career high in wins (10) while recording a 2.08 goals-against average coupled with a .727 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). The junior currently leads the conference in saves with 93 on the campaign. 

Stanford’s bout against the Tar Heels marks the 19th all-time meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to 1984. Carolina currently leads the all-time series 17-1 while Stanford’s lone win came in the inaugural matchup in a 3-2 win in Norfolk, Va. UNC took this season’s meeting on The Farm, 8-1.