STANFORD, Calif. – Hosting the 2023 season opener at Varsity Turf, Stanford field hockey dropped a 4-0 contest against No. 3 Maryland on Friday afternoon.
"As we have been saying with our team, this is just the beginning," said head coach Roz Ellis. "I'm proud of the effort today, I'm proud of the new system we're playing and their problem-solving within that. This was the start, and that's just how things landed today."
Maryland struck early, scoring twice in the first three minutes to put the Cardinal at an early deficit. Stanford stayed within range heading into the halftime break, but the Terrapins would add two more goals off penalty corners in the second half to round out the action.
The Cardinal offense tallied four shots at the Terrapin net, with Gemma Townsend, Anna Ghuliani, Haley Mossmer, and Maroussia Walckiers each generating offensive chances. Sophomore goalkeeper Daisy Ford secured four saves between the posts in the loss.
Eight Cardinal freshman made their collegiate debuts on the afternoon, accounting for 42 percent of the roster, as they look to continue to build their team chemistry in the early going.
"I thought they did a great job problem-solving today, we flew through three different presses throughout that game," Ellis added. "A lot of high chatter, and that's a great place to be with a new group because it's all about connection. It's hard to build connection in two weeks when your team is brand-new, but I'm super pleased with where we're starting."
Stanford returns to action on Sunday at noon PT, as they host their second-straight Big Ten foe, No. 16 Rutgers. The action will air on the Stanford live stream.