Corinne Zanolli scored on a penalty shot with 2:15 left in the game on Thursday afternoon, as the #19 Stanford Cardinal knocked off the Maine Black Bears 2-1 in a America East Field Hockey semifinal played at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey.
The Cardinal struck first when Sarah Johnson got a great feed from Zanolli on a penalty corner for a tap in goal with 1:19 left in the first half, and Stanford led 1-0 at the break. Old Town native Brooke Sulinski evened it for the Black Bears off a lead pass from Chloe Walton for a breakaway. Sulinski deked around Cardinal goalie Hannah Santos and deposited it into the back of the cage 3:26 into the second half to make it 1-1. The penalty shot by Zanolli was set up after Maine goaltender Mia Borley knocked down a Stanford player in the circle. Zanolli picked the left corner of the net to the right of the netminder for a hard shot that eluded Borley for the game winner.
Stanford outchanced Maine 15-5 in shots attempted, including 8-3 with shots on goal. Borley made six saves, while Santos made two. Maine finishes out their spring season at 7-4, including a 3-2 victory over Stanford in the regular season that got them into the playoffs. Stanford goes to 9-2 and will face Monmouth in the America East Championship game on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinal will attempt to win their fourth title in the last five appearances. They defeated Monmouth in the last championship game that was held in November 2019.
