The No. 16 Stanford field hockey team got off to a strong start this season, posting a 5-2 record before classes even began.

After decisive victories over Pacific and UC-Davis (6-0 and 3-1, respectively) in its first two contests of the year, the Cardinal dropped a heartbreaker to No. 7 Michigan State, 3-2. The Spartans traveled to the Farm as heavy favorites, but were given quite a game by the underdog Cardinal. Stanford twice trailed by a goal, but got equalizers from freshman forward Hope Burke and sophomore forward Kelsey Lloyd.

With the game tied 2-2 with just over a minute left, Michigan State got the decisive goal from Kristen Henn to win it.

Stanford quickly rebounded from the loss with three consecutive victories over Kent State, Iowa and Robert Morris, all in contests played in Kent, Ohio. The Iowa contest was the most hard-fought of the wins, coming 2-1 in overtime. Junior forward Stephanie Byrne knocked in the game winner to seal the win for the Card.

The winning streak came to an end this past Sunday with a 2-1 loss to NorPac rival California. The Golden Bears squeaked by the Cardinal with a goal in the 66th minute. Stanford will have another shot at Cal this season, though not until the final game of the regular season on Oct. 29.

Through the first seven games of the year, Byrne and sophomore defender Becky Dru lead the Cardinal with three goals and seven points apiece. In goal, junior Alessandra Moss has started all but one game, and is 4-2 with a 1.33 goals against average.

The Cardinal now heads east for a two-game road trip. On Sunday, it will face North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., and will square off against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Monday.