CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - A difficult stretch in the schedule continued for Stanford on Sunday morning, falling to its sixth consecutive ranked opponent in a 2-0 defeat to No. 10 Boston College.
Stanford falls to 5-7 and 0-6 in conference action this year following the loss, while Boston College moves to 10-3 with an undefeated 5-0 record in the ACC.
Both of the Eagles' goals came on penalty corner chances, as Stanford was left off the scoreboard for the fifth time this season. Six of the Cardinal's seven losses have come against ranked foes as it still looks for the first ACC win in program history.
Alayna Burns, Star Horlock, and Allison Kuzyk were the offensive attackers for Stanford with one shot each, while Daisy Ford registered seven saves on 19 Boston College shots. Scout Butler registered a pair of defensive saves in front of an empty net late in the game.
"The message to our team is simple, we can either blame or we can grow to achieve what we want," head coach Roz Ellis said. "Our team wants to grow, fight, and get to the postseason so we will be back to work on Tuesday."
Boston College got on the board early, as Madelieve Drion collected the loose ball on a penalty corner chance and backhanded it into the back of the cage at the four-minute mark.
The Eagles would double their lead in the third quarter, as Martina Giacchino received the insert and snuck a pass inside the near-side post to push the lead to 2-0. That was all the scoring Boston College would need, as the defense held firm down the stretch to keep Stanford off the scoresheet.
The Cardinal had a pair of chances in the contest that could have changed the course of the game, including a second-quarter breakaway chance that was mishandled in the exchange between Alayna Burns and Star Horlock. Burns also had a penalty corner chance rattle off the right post that would have cut the lead to one in the fourth quarter.
"We are so close," Ellis added. "Yes, we need to create more opportunities but I believe in this team and they are fighting, which means growth every day."
Stanford returns to action next weekend, traveling to Evanston, Ill., on Friday to square off against Northwestern at 1 p.m. PT before taking on Indiana at 9 a.m. PT on Sunday.