The No. 9 Stanford women’s field hockey team (9-4, 1-1 America East) has made a habit — for better or for worse — of playing extremely tight games this season. In its first eleven matches, only two contests were decided by more than one goal, and four of those games went to overtime.
That trend continued this weekend, as the Cardinal split its doubleheader in Evanston, topping No. 14 Northwestern (9-5, 2-2 Big Ten) 3-2 in OT on Friday before losing 1-0 to No. 16 Michigan (11-3, 4-1 Big Ten).
Against Northwestern, the team got off to a slow start and paid the price, as Wildcat forward Isabel Flens netted a goal off a penalty corner in the 21st minute to put Northwestern ahead 1-0. The Cardinal immediately responded, however, as junior midfielder Fran Tew set up senior forward Maddie Secco for the equalizer.
Late in the first half, Secco once again found herself involved in a scoring play, except this time on the distributing end. The senior found junior Caroline Beaudoin off a penalty corner to put the Cardinal up 2-1 going into the intermission.
Despite holding a lead at the half, Stanford was vastly overplayed in the first 35 minutes, as the team conceded 6 shots and 5 penalty corners. The Cardinal offense, however, was incredibly efficient, scoring on its only penalty corner of the half and on 2 of its 3 shots.
Northwestern’s strong play continued in the second half, as the Wildcats notched 9 shots to the Cardinal’s 5. The offensive onslaught finally paid off in the 67th minute, when Flens scored again to send the game to overtime.
The sudden-death period didn’t last long, however, as sophomore midfielder Sarah Helgeson notched her second goal of the season in less than three minutes to give Stanford its third overtime win of the season.
Maddie Secco’s contribution against Northwestern was of no surprise, as she has been dominant this season. The midfielder leads the Cardinal in points (20), goals (6) and assists (8). Goalkeeper Dulcie Davies was also impressive, recording 7 saves to keep Stanford in the game.
The team had a day off before taking on No. 16 Michigan on Sunday in Evanston. The Wolverines, coming into the game on a four-game winning streak during which they had only conceded one goal, continued to display their defensive prowess, holding the Cardinal scoreless for both periods.
A 16th-minute goal by Michigan was the difference in the game, as forward Courtney Enge made a long run and found teammate Shannon Scavelli, who was able to beat Davies and find the back of the net.
Tew had 5 shots for Stanford, upping her team-leading season total to 30. Meanwhile, Davis had another strong performance, making 5 saves.
The Cardinal return to the West Coast this weekend to wrap up their seven-game road stint. Stanford will take on Pacific in Stockton on Friday, before playing Cal on Sunday.
Contact Neel Ramachandran at neelr ‘at’ stanford.edu.