Ohio State coach Jarred Martin patrols the sideline during the Buckeyes’ 1-0 loss to Michigan on Sept. 22. Credit: Colin Hass-Hill | Sports Editor

Stanford junior attacker Corinne Zanolli polished off a hat trick in the final five minutes of Ohio State’s contest with the Cardinal to place a tight 1-0 game to out of reach at 3-0.

No. 16 Stanford (9-5, 1-0) defeated No. 18 Ohio State (6-6, 1-3) 3-1 Sunday at Buckeye Varsity Field, despite a relatively even night of shooting from both teams. 

Stanford notched 13 shots to Ohio State’s 12 and both squads had six shots on goal. The Buckeyes had five penalty corners to Stanford’s six, although four of Ohio State’s corners came with 30 seconds left in the game.

Ohio State head coach Jarred Martin said the Buckeyes need to do a better job converting in the final third of the field.

“There are a few things we can keep working on, just with our decision making and our skill choice in there to get something out of it,” Martin said. “Whether it’s a shot, whether it’s a pass if you’re defended well, or whether it’s drawing corners for us.”

Zanolli, who trains with the under-21 U.S. Women’s National team, scored her first goal at the 4:46 mark of the second quarter off a penalty corner. Her hat trick against Ohio State puts her at 41 goals for the season, and she entered the weekend No. 2 nationally in goals per game at 1.25.

It was Zanolli’s second consecutive hat trick after scoring one against Ball State Saturday.

With the Buckeyes trailing 1-0 and seven minutes left in the game, Ohio State senior midfielder Esther Clotet Alsina stole the ball deep in Stanford’s half of the field. She passed the ball to freshman forward Sarah Charley on the right side of the goal for a potential game-tying goal, but the ball took an awkward bounce and Charley wasn’t able to control it.

Ohio State sophomore midfielder Emma Goldean scored for the lone Buckeye goal on an untimed penalty corner with zero seconds remaining, her first of the season. The penalty corner was the fourth straight for the Buckeyes to close the game.

While Zanolli made a large impact on the game, so did her teammate, senior goalkeeper Kelsey Bing. Bing touts the NCAA’s sixth best save percentage of .794 and had five saves in the game. Bing plays with the US National Team and will travel to India for olympic qualifications in November.

Martin called only four subs against Stanford, and each Buckeye starter played at least 50 minutes except for junior forward Nikki Trzaska. Ohio State freshman midfielder Mackenzie Allessie played all 60 minutes Sunday, placing three shots on goal. Before this weekend’s games, Allessie was tied for the NCAA’s fifth most goals per game at 1.10.

Ohio State will play No. 19 Rutgers (6-6, 1-3) next Friday at 3 p.m. at Varsity Buckeye Field. Then, on Sunday at noon, the Buckeyes will take on their highest-ranked opponent of the season so far in No. 2 Maryland (13-1, 5-0), who is currently on a ten-game winning streak.

“I’m looking forward to just another good game, another game where we can prove that we deserve to be highly ranked,” Goldean said. “I think we’ve been working hard all season, and to be able to come and prove ourselves to another Big Ten team will be awesome.”