Welcome to This Week In Sports. We are The Daily’s sports editors, Ells Boone and Zach Zafran, and we’ll be walking you through the major games, events and stories from the past week, as well as providing a brief preview of what’s coming up this week.
Football kicked their season off on Saturday in a big way. On the very first play from scrimmage, the Cardinal showed they were on a mission as junior running back E.J. Smith went 87 yards to the house. Stanford defeated Colgate 48-10 behind Smith’s career-best 118 yards and two touchdowns. The offense also put on a clinic through the air, with sophomore quarterback Tanner McKee passing for 308 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to fifth-year wide receiver Michael Wilson.
No. 12 women’s soccer remains undefeated, adding two to the win column this week. The team started things off on Sunday with a 5-1 victory over UC Santa Barbara, which is the largest margin of victory in the matchup’s history. The Cardinal returned to the pitch four days later to take on No. 8 Penn State. Thanks to five key saves throughout the game from junior goalkeeper Ryan Campbell, Stanford walked away victorious, 2-0. The team continues their homestand on Sunday afternoon, this time welcoming Cal Poly (TKTKTK) to Cagan Stadium.
Men’s soccer held things down as well, extending their unbeaten streak to three games. The Cardinal avenged a loss from last season by taking down SMU 3-1, thanks to stout defensive efforts. They took care of business again on Thursday, leading off a doubleheader at Cagan Stadium with the women’s team, by defeating UC Davis 3-0. Through intense heat and physical play, as 27 fouls were whistled in the match, Stanford gutted out the victory with sophomore forward Jackson Kiil contributing his second goal in just three games. The team will return to action on Sunday night with a home game versus San Jose State.
No. 12 women’s volleyball had a huge week, taking down No. 13 Florida in the process. The Cardinal won in 5 sets as senior opposite Kendall Kipp and redshirt junior outside hitter Caitie Baird paced the team in kills with 19 and 15, respectively. On Sunday, the team will face their biggest challenge of the season by playing the number one team in the country. Stanford welcomes No. 1 Texas to The Farm, with first serve scheduled for 1 p.m. PT in Maples Pavilion.
In their first action since winning the NCAA championship last spring, women’s golf returned to the course. Competing in the Carmel Cup, the team wasted no time in getting back to championship form as they sit in the lead after two rounds ahead of Sunday’s final round. Sophomore Roze Zhang set the course record with a 9-under-63 on Saturday and sits in first place individually.
Field hockey put up two competitive outings this week but ultimately fell short in both. The Cardinal traveled to the East Coast, taking on one of the country’s best. The team kept things close all game with No. 1 Maryland, but an early goal from the Terrapins was too much to overcome in the 1-0 loss. Stanford returned home to face Indiana on Friday but, despite outshooting the Hoosiers 13-4, ultimately lost in overtime 3-2. They will take on their third straight Big 10 opponent with a matchup versus Michigan State at noon on Sunday.
Cross country opened up their season just a short drive away in the USF Invitational on Saturday. Despite sitting many of its top runners, the team won both the men’s and women’s team races. The women placed seven in the top 10, with freshman Riley Stewart earning first place in her collegiate debut. The Cardinal have a three-week hiatus before their next competition, the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Okla.
No. 4 Men’s water polo also opened up their season this weekend, with the team competing in the Bruno Classic. Domination was the name of the game in a 27-6 win over Wagner, and the team continued their winning ways with a 19-6 victory over No. 16 Harvard. Freshmen accounted for nine of the team’s goals. They’ll wrap up the weekend with ranked matchups against No. 19 Brown and No. 20 St. Francis Brooklyn on Sunday.
And in other news, one of Stanford’s all-time greats is returning to The Farm. The Stanford Daily was the first to break the news on Tuesday that former Stanford quarterback and No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft Andrew Luck ’12 is coming back to Stanford in the fall, this time as a graduate student. Luck will be pursuing a Masters of Arts in education.