Field Hockey falls 5-4 in OT to Stanford, out of NCAA tournament

Miami field hockey’s excellent season ended Friday afternoon with an opening round NCAA tournament loss to the Stanford Cardinal in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Stanford will move on to face top seeded North Carolina.

Miami scored less than one minute into the game. First-year striker Claudia Negrete Garcia took a shot that Stanford goalie Hannah Santos saved. The rebound kicked out to senior forward Allie Grace Joyner, who buried it for her 12th goal of the year.

Late in the first, Stanford struck back, as standout forward Corinne Zanolli scored her 12th goal of the year on a penalty corner.

The Cardinal scored the next two, both coming in the second quarter. Zanolli and defender Juli Porto found the back of the net for Stanford.

Both teams scored in the third quarter, and Miami entered the fourth down 4-2.

Just over a minute into the fourth, sophomore midfielder Madison Workman scored her first collegiate goal. Santos made a sprawling save on a shot by Garcia, and a Stanford defender tried to clear the ball. The clearing attempt found Workman’s stick next to the goal and she chipped it over a diving Santos to cut the Cardinal lead to one.

With less than two minutes left in regulation, Miami tied it up. Senior midfielder Leonor Berlie drove a shot on net, and Jenna Kirby — a first-year midfielder — deflected it in.

Neither team would score before the end of regulation. Sophomore goaltender Isabelle Parese saved a Zanoli shot with 30 seconds left to preserve the tie and send the game to overtime.

Zanolli finished the hat trick with the game winning goal in overtime. She slipped a shot past Parese after a penalty corner to walk it off for the Cardinal.

It was a valiant effort for the RedHawks, who finish the season 13-2 (10-0 Mid-American Conference). Both losses came against teams ranked in the top-20 of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll.

@jacksmerz