Fall sports are going full throttle right now. Men's golf, men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, field hockey and football all continued with their in-season games, while women's swim and dive opened the season. Football suffered a tough loss on the road, but men's soccer, women's soccer and women's volleyball all dominated in their games this week.
Earlier this week men's golf traveled to East Hampton, N.Y. to compete in the Hamptons Intercollegiate golf tournament. The team finished the tournament in fourth place out of 11 teams, beating out conference rival No. 15 Florida State. They were, however, not able to topple No. 21 Wake Forest who finished the tournament in second place. The Card's top players, senior Dean Greyserman and sophomore Jay Leng, both finished the tournament in the top 10. On the final day of the tournament, Greyserman had a rocky two over par start on the front nine, but was able to hold on to his sixth-place finish with an even par on the back nine. Leng, after shooting two over par on the front nine, was able to put together a three under par back nine that secured him a three-way tie for ninth. The team will close out their fall tournament schedule at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Oct. 24-26.
No. 3 women's soccer took the field last Thursday and dominated Virginia Tech in a 5-0 shutout. The Cardinal charge was led by junior midfielder Shae Harvey who recorded her first career game with two goals and an assist. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first half, the team came out firing on all cylinders in the second half with three more goals. Freshman goal keeper Caroline Birkel and sophomore goal keeper Kaiya Jota split goaltending duties in the shut out.
The team followed this performance with an even more impressive 2-1 win over No. 1 ranked Virginia on Sunday. Senior midfielder Jasmine Aikey and sophomore midfielder/forward Charlotte Kohler scored both of Stanford's goals in the first half, in front of a sold out Cagan Stadium. The Cardinal were scoreless in the second half, while letting in one goal. but ultimately held on for the victory. Their schedule does not get any easier from here, with a road match against No. 5 Florida State on Oct. 16.
Women's swimming spent Friday and Saturday opening their season on the road in San Diego at the UCSD Triton Invitational. The Cardinal beat out UC San Diego, Hawai'i and UC Santa Barbara, but could not overcome No. 5 UC Berkeley. Redshirt senior Torri Huske achieved individual victories in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle. Freshmen Addie Robillard and Annam Olasewere both earned podium finishes in their first meet in the 200 breaststroke and 50 freestyle, respectively. Stanford's team relays were strong, earning a victory in the 200 medley and a runner-up finish in the 200 freestyle. Their next competition is on Oct. 24 as they host the first leg of a two-day tri-meet with Arizona State and UC Berkeley at Avery Aquatic Center.
No. 6 women's volleyball swept Boston College 3-0 Friday at Connell Recreation Center. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Ipar Kurt and sophomore middle blocker Lizzy Andrew led the team with kills. Kurt had 12 kills on .320 hitting with two digs, two blocks and three assists, while Andrew had 10 kills on .400 hitting with four blocks. The Cardinal also got strong performances from three standout freshmen. Setter Logan Parks registered 38 assists, five kills, two aces, five digs and four blocks. Freshman libero Spencer Etzler had a match-high 17 digs on defense, and freshman middle blocker Erika Sayer gave the Cardinal nine kills and five blocks.
On Sunday, Stanford went on the road and swept another conference rival, Syracuse. Andrew and Etzler were stand out performers in this match as well, with a team-high 10 kills and four blocks and a career-high 20 digs, respectively. Stanford is now 5-1 in ACC play and will return to campus for a match against Florida State on Thursday and Miami on Sunday.
The field hockey team fell to No. 5 Syracuse on Friday, but were able to win in dramatic fashion on Sunday against Boston College in a 2-1 overtime contest. Junior forward Gemma Townsend scored for the Cardinal in the first two minutes of play, after which a defensive battle ensued that did not end until moments before the final buzzer, when Boston college was able to wedge one in the net. The game then went into overtime, and it was freshman midfielder Natalie Hoppe who slotted in the winning shot. With the win, Stanford improves to 5-7 on the season and 2-4 in ACC play. The team's next two games are away: Friday against Wake Forest and Sunday at Davidson.
No. 1 Stanford dominated Pittsburgh in a 2-0 victory, with Pittsburgh only having one attempt at the goal. This win marked the first time the Cardinal has held an opponent to one shot on goal since 2021. While Stanford maintained offensive control the entire game, it took until the 55th minute to hit paydirt. Redshirt junior defender Palmer Bank buried a right-footed attack off of a first touch from redshirt sophomore midfielder Trevor Islam. Minutes later Islam scored his sixth goal of the season extending the lead to 2-0. Stanford is now 11-1-1 on the season and 5-1 in the ACC with a three-point lead at the top of the ACC. The team will take a short midseason break, before returning to action at home on Oct. 22 against San Francisco.
Football fell 34-10 on the road against SMU. The offense put up a respectable 353 total yards, with 278 of those yards through the air and the remaining 75 on the ground, but the team was plagued by 10 penalties for a combined loss of 95 yards and struggled finding the endzone. The Cardinal's lone touchdown came with 35 seconds to go before halftime; on a four-play 75-yard drive that ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass from redshirt senior quarterback Ben Gulbranson to senior wide receiver CJ Williams. Williams ended the day with seven catches for 109 yards, making it the third consecutive game this season that the senior has gone for over 100 yards. In a scary scene, junior cornerback Aaron Morris was immobilized and taken off the field in an ambulance, after tackling an SMU receiver. Thankfully, Morris cleared precautionary tests and was allowed to rejoin the team on the sideline. The loss brings Stanford to 2-4 on the season and 1-2 in the ACC. The team faces a big test next week as they host Florida State at home Saturday for homecoming reunion weekend.