UMass falls 2-1 to Stanford, but strong local turnout watches
Sanders’ return
Stanford – The result didn’t go the way Gina Sanders and her University of Massachusetts teammates would have liked, but the former Live Oak High field hockey player and her strong crowd of supporters still enjoyed themselves on a warm Saturday afternoon at Stanford.
Despite the 2-1 loss to the Cardinal, the large contigent of UMass and Sanders supporters voiced plenty of enthusiasm – a lot more than the team typically finds on a road game.
“We go to Dartmouth and there’s maybe 10 people,” said Gina’s father Mike Sanders, who travels to all of her games on the East Coast and leads the crowds in “Go UMass” cheers. “Here, when we say ‘Go UMass,’ you can hear it way over there. You know (the players) can hear it. And that’s what it’s for. It’s for the parents to get pumped up, it’s something to do and I wish we could’ve done it more often because that’s what we do after they score.”
Gina Sanders said after the game said she wishes the Minutewomen could get another crack at Stanford down the road because she didn’t think the team played up to its capabilities.
“It’s a little disappointing because we didn’t perform as well as we should have,” she said. “We beat ourselves. We made the small mistakes. And the small mistakes ended up hurting us.”
Stanford got the scoring going early when Aska Sturdevan, a close friend of Sanders who played on a club team with her, punched in a goal 5:13 into the first half.
“I was a little torn,” Sanders said. “Aska’s a very talented player. I was so glad I finally got to play against her because we are very good friends.”
The Cardinal’s Jess Zutz added an unassisted goal with 11:24 left in the first half to stake Stanford to a 2-0 lead. UMass rebounded when Nicole Phelan scored an unassisted goal with 2:37 left in the game, but the Minutewomen couldn’t record the equalizer and fell 2-1.
UMass followed with a 3-0 loss to Cal on Sunday and the Minutewomen wrap up the road trip today when it takes on the University of Pacific at 3pm in Berkeley.
Despite the result on the field, Sanders was happy with how many people came out to show their support, in particular the entire Live Oak field hockey team.
“I think it’s awesome that the whole team came,” Sanders said. “They don’t even know me and they all came to cheer me on.”
First-year Live Oak coach Paula Haaser found it to be a great opportunity for her team to see the sport at a higher level.
“It’s really nice to see the positions, to see the formations,” Haaser said. “They get an idea of how the higher level plays.”
Janet Lee, who plays for Live Oak, enjoyed being able to watch someone from her school playing at the next level.
“There’s a lot of girls from different schools playing,” Lee said. “It’s nice now that there’s someone from Live Oak.”
Mike Sanders came to Live Oak’s practice to work with the team earlier in the week and encouraged them to attend the game.
” I think it’s a great way to show them how the game needs to be played,” Mike Sanders said. “To see how their corners are set up, how they pass the ball, the intesity level of the game. Hopefully, it raises the bar for them.”
Gina’s Sanders’ mother, Jan Sanders, also a former Live Oak field hockey player who travels to roughly 10 games per year, enjoyed having her daughter in the area, even though she didn’t get to see much of her.
“We don’t get to see her much because she has to be with the team,” Jan Sanders said. “But it’s exciting. It’s nice to have the team come.”
