The Stanford Cardinal will travel to the east coast for a Monday afternoon matchup with the No. 4 Maryland Terrapins at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.
The Terps (1-0) dismantled Drexel in the season opener on Aug. 26 by a score of 7-1, the program’s largest margin of victory since 2006. Sophomore forward Hope Rose recorded three goals in the contest, showcasing her dynamic talent and why she is one of the best players in the Big Ten.
Maryland freshman midfielder Sophie Klautz scored two goals in her debut for the Terps, adding to a Maryland offense that was already among the top in the country. Klautz flashed the potential of being an intricate piece of a team that narrowly missed the national championship game a season ago.
Stanford (1-0) defeated Holy Cross, 2-1, in overtime on a goal by senior attacker Lynn Vanderstichele to earn its first victory of the 2022 season. The Cardinal recorded 15 shots, juxtaposed to their opponent’s six.
Vanderstichele’s first career game-winning goal helped the Cardinal win their first season opener since 2020.
Maryland holds a perfect 6-0 record versus Stanford, with the latest coming in a 3-2 victory on Aug. 26, 2012. Both teams defeated their first opponents this year on both ends of the stick with nine combined goals and 40 shots, while only relinquishing two goals.
The Terps will look to go 2-0 for the first time since 2019, while Stanford would like to cap off its trip with an upset victory.
Now, let’s look at the Cardinal.
Stanford Cardinal (1-0, 0-0 America East)
2021 record: 4-9 (3-5 America East)
The Stanford Cardinal are led by second-year head coach Roz Ellis after she spent three seasons (2018-21) as an assistant coach for Iowa.
During a successful career at her alma mater, Ellis helped guide the Hawkeyes to three NCAA Tournament appearances and an Elite Eight in 2021.
Ellis is a young coach with the requisite experience to lead a program to championship contention. The player-turned-coach was a star in college, where she contributed to an Iowa defense that won three consecutive Big Ten Tournaments and the school’s first semifinal appearance since 1999.
Ellis’ extensive defensive background has traveled with her to the West Coast, as her club was successful in halting the Holy Cross attack in its first game of the 2022 season.
Players to know
Haley Mossmer, junior attacker, No. 12 — The California native returns for her junior season after leading Stanford with eight goals last season. Mossmer is an aggressive attacker who is always looking to fire shots at the cage. Goalkeepers are always searching for No. 12 because she will attack the cage early and often to generate offense for Stanford. While Mossmer was quiet in the 2-1 victory over Holy Cross, she’s always a threat to score with her quickness and ability to fire shots from multiple angles.
Lynn Vanderstichele, senior attacker, No. 7 — Vanderstichele scored the exhilarating goal to give Stanford the win over Holy Cross in the season opener. She also registered three shots and one shot on goal in the home matchup. The five-foot-eight England native recorded four goals and 23 shots in 13 games last season. She is one of Stanford’s key contributors and showed she can make a play when the game is on the line.
Rose Winter, senior defender, No. 8 — Winter scored a first-quarter goal against Holy Cross to get Stanford on the board first. She only recorded one goal last season, as she’s already on pace to surpass her previous total. Winter’s defensive prowess is her calling card, but she’s more than capable of chipping in on the offensive end.
Strength
Defense. Stanford’s defense was stingy in the season opener on Aug. 26. The Cardinal didn’t relinquish a goal until the third quarter, holding Holy Cross scoreless for over 45 minutes. Stanford allowed a mere six shots, while doubling Holy Cross’ total with 15. Ellis’ team has athletes consistently sprinting to the ball and trying to smother ball-carriers to force a turnover. Stanford has shown a tendency to play its opponents tough, even when its offense isn’t firing on all cylinders.
Weakness
Scoring. Scoring and generating consistent offense have proven to be an area of concern for the Cardinal. While Stanford has shown glimpses of defensive brilliance, there have been lapses of the America East team struggling to generate consistent offense. The Cardinal recorded 15 shots versus Holy Cross but only mustered two goals. Stanford’s schedule features several offenses that have shown the ability to score in bunches. Last season, they averaged a minuscule 1.54 goals per game. In eight of their contests last season, they recorded one goal or less.
Three things to watch
1. The Terps will look to go 2-0 for the first time since 2019. Maryland will seek a 2-0 start before heading to Massachusetts for the Big Ten/ACC Cup. The Terps put the Big Ten on notice with six unanswered goals, three from Rose and two from Klautz. The last time the Terps jumped out to an undefeated record after two games was in 2019, when they defeated Richmond and New Hampshire. The Terps outscored both opponents by a score of 10-1. With ranked matchups on the horizon, securing early-season victories could pay dividends for the Terps.
2. Maryland’s defense showed flashes of dominance and it could be its calling card early in the season. Graduate goalkeeper Christina Calandra got the nod for the Terps in the season opener and she put on an impressive performance in her first career start. Calandra was orchestrating the defense with constant communication while giving Maryland a stalwart for its last line of defense. The speed and quickness of Maryland’s athletes forces turnovers and keeps ball-carriers in one area of the field to prevent penetration. Junior defender Rayne Wright is one of the best in the Big Ten, with the shiftiness and lateral agility to smother the opposing team at the top of the corner.
3. What will Klautz do for an encore? Klautz made an impressive introduction to Terps fans with two goals in the 7-1 victory over Drexel. The freshman looked confident and comfortable, as she weaved in and out of defenders en route to scoring opportunities. With Klautz and Rose, Maryland could possibly have one of the best scoring duos in the country.
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