No. 21 Stanford field hockey (10-4, 2-0 America East) claimed victory against No. 29 William & Mary (7-5, 3-0 CAA) in an intense 4-3 shootout on Monday afternoon at the Varsity Turf. Coming off of a triumphant 3-2 win over their cross-bay rival competitor, No. 26 Cal (3-9, 0-2 America East), the Cardinal started another winning streak with back-to-back wins.
William & Mary started the game off strong with possession, pressing the Cardinal with fast breaks and two goals from junior Cassidy Goodwin off two penalty corners in the first seven minutes, putting Stanford at a deficit of 2-0.
“We knew coming into this game that it was going to be a tough game,” coach Tara Danielson said. “William and Mary is very experienced. They had two corners, two goals, just like that. That’s what an experienced team will do.”
Coupled with two amazing saves by junior goalkeeper Kelsey Bing, strong offensive plays by freshman Fenella Scutt and fast breaks by junior Phoebe Crosthwaite, Stanford was able to retaliate with a stunning goal off a penalty corner by freshman Molly Redgrove about 23 minutes into the first quarter, swinging the Cardinal right back into its usual goal-hungry mojo. Sophomore Corinne Zanolli, inspired by the fiery Cardinal spirit, equalized the game with her 19th goal of the season (putting her third in the country) with an assist from junior Jessica Welch. William & Mary responded with an ambiguous goal by junior Annie Snead, ending the first half with the Griffins in a 3-2 lead, having scored on three out of the three penalty corners and truly crushing their setpieces.
The second half of the game showed fierce competition as the Cardinal fought to even out the plate, with Welch, assisted by senior Emma Christus, scoring 15 minutes into the second half. Both teams endured a heavyweight punch-mouth battle as they tied 3-3 into double overtime. Even with a 7-6 shot advantage at the beginning of the first overtime, the Cardinal still struggled to withstand the pressure put on by the aggressive and experienced William & Mary Griffins.
The two-and-a-half-hour brawl under the beating sun, accelerated by the action packed match, ended with a 2-0 sweep in the final shootout, thanks to impressive goals by Zanolli and Scutt and the phenomenal efforts of Bing, completely shutting out the Griffins’ seven attacks on goal.
Ultimately, the happy ending to this nailbiter of a game can be attributed to the Cardinal’s team cohesiveness.
“I think our team dynamic is a huge aspect,” Bing said. “We are a really close team and I think that’s one of our competitive advantages here.”
Catch the Cardinal this Friday playing Pacific at 3 p.m.
Contact Asia Zhang at asiaz ‘at’ stanford.edu