Dominant is not a word often thrown around in field hockey. In a sport where the margins of victory are usually very small, it’s possible for any team to become a giant-killer. That is just one more reason that the Stanford’s field hockey team’s season has been remarkable.
The No. 4 Cardinal (17-1, 4-0 NorPac West) is currently on an 11-game winning streak and own the best record in the nation. The team puts its season on the line this weekend in Stockton, California at the NorPac Championships hosted by Pacific, competing for the conference title and a berth to the National Championships.
Stanford has been strong both offensively and defensively this season. Led by senior midfielder Alex McCawley’s team-high 14 goals and senior Kelsey Harbin’s strong defensive leadership, the team has flourished against tough opponents. Junior Dulcie Davies has also been outstanding in goal, and is currently ranked first in the nation with a miniscule 0.67 goals against average and 0.836 save percentage.
While teammates do not actively search out individual awards, that does not make them any less impressive. Stanford, the NorPac West Division Champions, swept the conference’s individual awards at the banquet on Wednesday night: McCawley was awarded Offensive Player of the Year, Davies received Defensive Player of the Year, freshman Katie Keyser won Rookie of the Year, Harbin was honored as the Player of the Year and head coach Tara Danielson was named the NorPac Coach of the Year.
While Stanford’s excellent leadership on the field has been a credit the entire season, the Cardinal attack has been balanced, as 11 different players have registered at least one goal over the course of the season.
“We have such talent that the opposing team can’t man-mark people; everyone is dangerous,” McCawley said.
With just one loss the entire season it would be easy to get complacent during the conference tourney and simply look forward to NCAA Championships, but the Cardinal are very much focused on the task at hand.
“We are looking to do really well and execute during NorPac’s. We’re trying not to look too far forward because we really have to make sure we keep our level high. Not everything is given, and we have to make sure that each opportunity is taken day by day,” McCawley said.
“This year, the whole feeling is just completely different. We really believe that we can go all the way,” said junior defender Jessica Chisholm.
Stanford is looking to improve on last year’s second-place NorPac finish, which came after a disappointing 2-1 loss against Liberty in the final. Today at 2 p.m, after a first-round bye, the Cardinal will play in the tournament semifinal against UC-Davis, who defeated Pacific on Thursday. The championship game is set for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Live stats and video streaming will be available online for every game of the NorPac Championships.
Contact Amanda McLean at ammclean ‘at’ stanford.edu.