A female student allegedly was assaulted near Manzanita Field on Monday evening by an unidentified man, according to Stanford police.

The student “fought back,” struggled free and called in the incident from a blue emergency phone at 6:43 p.m., according to Department of Public Safety (DPS) spokesman Bill Larson. According to an alert e-mail from DPS, the man approached the student from behind and covered her mouth with his hand, which she then tried to bite.

Larson said the suspect was described as a Caucasian male in his 40s, about 5’10” and of thin build. He was wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, and had a brown goatee or mustache.

After the assault, the man fled. Law enforcement officials canvassed the area and brought in a tracking dog, Larson said.

— Ellen Huet