STANFORD, Calif. – Earning its first win of the season, and the first win of the Roz Ellis era, Stanford field hockey (1-2) scored four times in the second half to topple Dartmouth (1-2), 4-1, on Monday at the Varsity Turf.
Lynn Vanderstichele scored two goals for the first brace of her career, while Haley Mossmer and Caroline Reinhart also found the back of the cage. The score for Mossmer was her second of the season, while Reinhart slotted home the first goal of her career. Rose Winter, Cara Sambeth and Fenella Scutt earned assists to help ignite the offense.
"It feels great, the Card worked hard today," said Ellis. "We had a game plan, had a great week of team building and culture building, and you saw that bleed out onto the field today. They trusted each other, took risks and supported the risks they took, and communicated."
Stanford outshot the Big Green by a 22-1 margin despite playing without a goalkeeper for the third consecutive game. After a scoreless first half, Reinhart opened the scoring when she tipped a shot from Sambeth just under five minutes into the third quarter.
Vanderstichele tripled the Cardinal advantage with a pair of goals just 8:37 apart. First, she stole a pass and fired a laser past the goalkeeper in the third quarter, and followed five minutes into the fourth period with a powerful shot into the bottom corner from the top of the arc on the penalty corner.
"It's amazing to be back out with the team, even to play without a goalie, and to perform and come out with a win in the end," said Vanderstichele. "We were unified as a team, and really getting out there and enjoying the game. The coaches have been brilliant in explaining tactics, and our ability to adjust within the game plan and to our opposition has helped us be successful."
The Big Green added its only tally in the 52nd minute, but Stanford quickly rebounded when Mossmer slotted home a rebound from a shot off the stick of Vanderstichele.
"We've continued to build on how we can manipulate our structure with an extra person on the field," continued Ellis. "I thought today was the best day that we used it to our advantage higher up the field."
After three-straight home contests to start the campaign, Stanford sees an 18-day break before traveling to Vermont for its first road contest on Friday, Sept. 24. The action, which opens conference play, will be broadcast on AmericaEast.com.