Led by senior attacker Corinne Zanolli, Stanford field hockey (2-0, 2-0 America East) secured back-to-back wins to open the season in West Long Branch, NJ.

The Cardinal dove straight into conference play, with its first game since Nov. 2019 coming against Vermont. The team’s balanced offense and stout defense proved to be the difference as Stanford coasted to a 3-0 victory. Zanolli opened the scoring at the 5:21 mark, and classmate senior midfielder Frances Carstens doubled the lead with a goal of her own. Zanolli’s second score of the day was the last time either team found the cage. 

Zanolli’s five shots matched the total number of team shots attempted by the Catamounts. Cardinal junior goalkeeper Hannah Santos was flawless in the matchup and finished with one save.

Santos saved another three shots on Sunday, as the team took on Monmouth (3-2, 1-1 America East) at 7 a.m. PT. However, an early score by Maggie Downs put the Cardinal in a 1-0 deficit. It wasn’t until nearly 45 minutes into the game that junior defender Juli Porto was able to even the score, but redshirt sophomore attacker Lily Croddick followed it up with a score of her own just two minutes later. 

Monmouth rebounded to make it a 2-2 game, but from there the two teams went scoreless until 59:24, where Zanolli finished the job for the Cardinal to put the team up 3-2. The game-winner was her 77th goal in 66 career games.

Stanford outshot both teams by a collective 28-13 margin.

The Cardinal will remain on the east coast for a matchup with New Hampshire on Wednesday in Durham. Game time is 11 a.m. PT.