[Viking_Guy]

Stanford rode a stout defense and the scoring power of Corinne Zanolli to a 3-1 win in an "opening round" game in the NCAA women's field hockey tournament this morning.

A fairly even first half, with Zanolli scoring early in the second quarter, but Miami having a lot of the ball in Stanford's end.  That said, Stanford wasn't giving up many good looks.  The Zanolli goal came off a good right-side buildup, with Fenella Scutt getting a through ball on the right side and pulling it back to an open Zanolli in the center of the circle to hammer home.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1194701983795437568

Third quarter was all Stanford - Zanolli scored twice in the first 3.5 minutes.  The second was a penalty stroke after Stanford, pressuring Miami continuously, had a shot taken off the line illegally by a field player (at least I think that was the call - it got behind the keeper, at least.)

In fact, the second half was pretty much Stanford's.  Midway through the fourth quarter, they enjoyed a 9-1 shot advantage and had not given up a penalty corner.  Miami got its first corner with not much more than 3 minutes left in the match, and generated a couple of good chances, culminating in their only goal with about 90 seconds left.  But they never threatened to overturn the result, really.

Zanolli now has 33 goals on the year - I'm pretty sure she's the nation's leading scorer, and I think she just pulled even with North Carolina's Erin Matson in the "goals per game" stat - she has 33 in 22 games, while Matson has 24 in 16 matches.

Speaking of the undefeated and #1 Tar Heels, Stanford will play them in Chapel Hill on Friday at 9 am PST.  It will be a really tough matchup - in common opponents, they beat Louisville 4-1 (Stanford lost 3-0); Duke 2-0 (Stanford lost 1-0); and Wake Forest 3-1 (Stanford lost 3-1); both teams beat Syracuse, and there may be others that I didn't notice.  That said, Stanford is playing pretty well right now - I guess the big question is how Stanford will react to the time zone issue. 

But another great game for Kelsey Bing in goal, and who knows?

Go Card!

VG

[Viking_Guy]

Stanford rode a stout defense and the scoring power of Corinne Zanolli to a 3-1 win in an "opening round" game in the NCAA women's field hockey tournament this morning.

A fairly even first half, with Zanolli scoring early in the second quarter, but Miami having a lot of the ball in Stanford's end.  That said, Stanford wasn't giving up many good looks.  The Zanolli goal came off a good right-side buildup, with Fenella Scutt getting a through ball on the right side and pulling it back to an open Zanolli in the center of the circle to hammer home.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1194701983795437568

Third quarter was all Stanford - Zanolli scored twice in the first 3.5 minutes.  The second was a penalty stroke after Stanford, pressuring Miami continuously, had a shot taken off the line illegally by a field player (at least I think that was the call - it got behind the keeper, at least.)

In fact, the second half was pretty much Stanford's.  Midway through the fourth quarter, they enjoyed a 9-1 shot advantage and had not given up a penalty corner.  Miami got its first corner with not much more than 3 minutes left in the match, and generated a couple of good chances, culminating in their only goal with about 90 seconds left.  But they never threatened to overturn the result, really.

Zanolli now has 33 goals on the year - I'm pretty sure she's the nation's leading scorer, and I think she just pulled even with North Carolina's Erin Matson in the "goals per game" stat - she has 33 in 22 games, while Matson has 24 in 16 matches.

Speaking of the undefeated and #1 Tar Heels, Stanford will play them in Chapel Hill on Friday at 9 am PST.  It will be a really tough matchup - in common opponents, they beat Louisville 4-1 (Stanford lost 3-0); Duke 2-0 (Stanford lost 1-0); and Wake Forest 3-1 (Stanford lost 3-1); both teams beat Syracuse, and there may be others that I didn't notice.  That said, Stanford is playing pretty well right now - I guess the big question is how Stanford will react to the time zone issue. 

But another great game for Kelsey Bing in goal, and who knows?

Go Card!

VG

[81alum]

Stanford rode a stout defense and the scoring power of Corinne Zanolli to a 3-1 win in an "opening round" game in the NCAA women's field hockey tournament this morning.

A fairly even first half, with Zanolli scoring early in the second quarter, but Miami having a lot of the ball in Stanford's end.  That said, Stanford wasn't giving up many good looks.  The Zanolli goal came off a good right-side buildup, with Fenella Scutt getting a through ball on the right side and pulling it back to an open Zanolli in the center of the circle to hammer home.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1194701983795437568

Third quarter was all Stanford - Zanolli scored twice in the first 3.5 minutes.  The second was a penalty stroke after Stanford, pressuring Miami continuously, had a shot taken off the line illegally by a field player (at least I think that was the call - it got behind the keeper, at least.)

In fact, the second half was pretty much Stanford's.  Midway through the fourth quarter, they enjoyed a 9-1 shot advantage and had not given up a penalty corner.  Miami got its first corner with not much more than 3 minutes left in the match, and generated a couple of good chances, culminating in their only goal with about 90 seconds left.  But they never threatened to overturn the result, really.

Zanolli now has 33 goals on the year - I'm pretty sure she's the nation's leading scorer, and I think she just pulled even with North Carolina's Erin Matson in the "goals per game" stat - she has 33 in 22 games, while Matson has 24 in 16 matches.

Speaking of the undefeated and #1 Tar Heels, Stanford will play them in Chapel Hill on Friday at 9 am PST.  It will be a really tough matchup - in common opponents, they beat Louisville 4-1 (Stanford lost 3-0); Duke 2-0 (Stanford lost 1-0); and Wake Forest 3-1 (Stanford lost 3-1); both teams beat Syracuse, and there may be others that I didn't notice.  That said, Stanford is playing pretty well right now - I guess the big question is how Stanford will react to the time zone issue. 

But another great game for Kelsey Bing in goal, and who knows?

Go Card!

VG

I so appreciate these reports, VG!  I wish I understood more about field hockey but I have spent quite a bit of time (usually on the way to or from basketball games) watching them practice on our field and wondering about the game.  It looks like a cross between soccer and ice hockey to me.

[81alum]

Stanford rode a stout defense and the scoring power of Corinne Zanolli to a 3-1 win in an "opening round" game in the NCAA women's field hockey tournament this morning.

A fairly even first half, with Zanolli scoring early in the second quarter, but Miami having a lot of the ball in Stanford's end.  That said, Stanford wasn't giving up many good looks.  The Zanolli goal came off a good right-side buildup, with Fenella Scutt getting a through ball on the right side and pulling it back to an open Zanolli in the center of the circle to hammer home.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1194701983795437568

Third quarter was all Stanford - Zanolli scored twice in the first 3.5 minutes.  The second was a penalty stroke after Stanford, pressuring Miami continuously, had a shot taken off the line illegally by a field player (at least I think that was the call - it got behind the keeper, at least.)

In fact, the second half was pretty much Stanford's.  Midway through the fourth quarter, they enjoyed a 9-1 shot advantage and had not given up a penalty corner.  Miami got its first corner with not much more than 3 minutes left in the match, and generated a couple of good chances, culminating in their only goal with about 90 seconds left.  But they never threatened to overturn the result, really.

Zanolli now has 33 goals on the year - I'm pretty sure she's the nation's leading scorer, and I think she just pulled even with North Carolina's Erin Matson in the "goals per game" stat - she has 33 in 22 games, while Matson has 24 in 16 matches.

Speaking of the undefeated and #1 Tar Heels, Stanford will play them in Chapel Hill on Friday at 9 am PST.  It will be a really tough matchup - in common opponents, they beat Louisville 4-1 (Stanford lost 3-0); Duke 2-0 (Stanford lost 1-0); and Wake Forest 3-1 (Stanford lost 3-1); both teams beat Syracuse, and there may be others that I didn't notice.  That said, Stanford is playing pretty well right now - I guess the big question is how Stanford will react to the time zone issue. 

But another great game for Kelsey Bing in goal, and who knows?

Go Card!

VG

I so appreciate these reports, VG!  I wish I understood more about field hockey but I have spent quite a bit of time (usually on the way to or from basketball games) watching them practice on our field and wondering about the game.  It looks like a cross between soccer and ice hockey to me.

[Viking_Guy]

Sort of.  A lot of specific rules, like you can't score without a player touching the ball inside the shooting circle, and if a defender is hit by the ball in that circle, it's a penalty corner.

It's like hockey in that you have to feather the ball with your stick - deaden the pass to control it, and other stick handling things like that.  You also can only use one side of the stick, and there are a lot of rules about impeding another player, if the ball is in the air, etc.  I know a few of them, but I can't pretend to understand any deeper strategy.  Other than penalty corners are the best way to score - seven offensive players against three defenders and a goalie.

The other thing I really like?  If a game goes to overtime, they remove 3 (or 4?) players from the field.  It really makes things end to end, especially with no offside rule or anything like it - I sse a lot of forwards just hang out outside the shooting circle, trying to poach a quick long pass and shot.

In any case, it's nice to see Stanford have a good game in the tourney.  Their past success has been mixed; of course, they're almost always playing a top seed in their first game.  And it's hard for them to improve, since the best programs are all two or three time zones away.

VG

[Viking_Guy]

Sort of.  A lot of specific rules, like you can't score without a player touching the ball inside the shooting circle, and if a defender is hit by the ball in that circle, it's a penalty corner.

It's like hockey in that you have to feather the ball with your stick - deaden the pass to control it, and other stick handling things like that.  You also can only use one side of the stick, and there are a lot of rules about impeding another player, if the ball is in the air, etc.  I know a few of them, but I can't pretend to understand any deeper strategy.  Other than penalty corners are the best way to score - seven offensive players against three defenders and a goalie.

The other thing I really like?  If a game goes to overtime, they remove 3 (or 4?) players from the field.  It really makes things end to end, especially with no offside rule or anything like it - I sse a lot of forwards just hang out outside the shooting circle, trying to poach a quick long pass and shot.

In any case, it's nice to see Stanford have a good game in the tourney.  Their past success has been mixed; of course, they're almost always playing a top seed in their first game.  And it's hard for them to improve, since the best programs are all two or three time zones away.

VG