Stanford field hockey (2-3, 1-1 American East) fell to Maine (5-5, 2-0 American East) 2-3 on Sunday morning in Orono, Maine. Sophomore attacker Haley Mossmer scored both goals, but the Cardinal defense ultimately could not fend off three successful attacks from the Black Bears.
Despite taking more shots than its opponent, the Cardinal did not share Maine’s shooting percentage in Sunday’s game. Stanford took six shots on goal with two scores while Maine shot at 100 percent, scoring from each of its three shots on goal.
Mossmer shot at 0.500 while senior midfielder Isabelle Pilson and junior defender Rose Winter had one shot apiece. Sophomore midfielder Caroline Guden came off the bench for one shot on goal in the third quarter.
After facing near cancellation of its program as one of the 11 sports slated to be cut this past year, the Cardinal has entered a new era under head coach Roz Ellis. Ellis served as the assistant coach at Iowa since 2018 and led the team to 3 NCAA appearances including a trip to the national semifinals in the 2018 season. She faces an interesting challenge with her new team: 11 players on the field with no goalkeeper.
The lack of a goalkeeper proved overly detrimental to Stanford against the Black Bears as the Cardinal defense faced three shots to allow three goals.
The Cardinal have used their unconventional formation to hone their defensive skills this season, but Maine managed to make a number of critical scoring opportunities. Though Stanford ranks second nationally in defensive saves per game, none of the Cardinal players were able to shut down Maine’s attacks.
In her fourth consecutive game with points on the board, Mossmer initiated the Stanford offense with a score in the last minute of the first quarter – putting the Cardinal up 1-0. She took another shot just four minutes into the second quarter, but it was saved by Maine goalkeeper Mia Borley.
Pilson took the next shot in the second quarter, then attempted to add to the lead in two consecutive penalty corners. The Cardinal could not find the net before Maine scored in the last minute of the quarter, tying the score at 1-1.
The third quarter belonged to the Black Bears. While Mossmer and Guden each took a shot on goal, Maine scored twice in the last five minutes of the quarter – the second being off of a penalty corner.
The Cardinal entered the fourth quarter down 1-3. Ultimately, a wide shot by Winter and a 58th minute goal by Mossmer could not bridge the divide. Stanford fell to Maine 2-3 in its second American East contest of the season.
Field hockey looks to bounce back on Friday at home hosting UC Davis at 6 p.m. PT.