STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford women's lacrosse was picked to finish third in the inaugural Pac-12 Preaseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the conference office on Monday.
USC earned five of the six first-place votes to finish as the conference favorite with 25 points. Colorado earned a first-place nod and 21 points, followed by Stanford's 17 points. Oregon (13 points), Cal (8) and Arizona State (6) rounded out the poll.
Stanford, which is ranked No. 23 in the IWLCA preseason Top 25, finished 12-6 in 2017 and concluded the season in the conference semifinals. The Cardinal returns its all-time career leader in points in 2018. Kelsey Murray has a 55-game point streak and her 225 career points will look to chip into NCAA record books. Murray also has 142 career goals – which places her third all-time in program history and needs only four to become Stanford's all-time leader.
Stanford opens the 2018 campaign on Saturday at Denver at noon PT. The first Pac-12 game in program history is set for March 9 at Colorado.
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | USC (5) | 25 |
| 2. | Colorado (1) | 21 |
| 3. | Stanford | 17 |
| 4. | Oregon | 13 |
| 5. | Cal | 8 |
| 6. | Arizona State | 6 |
#GoStanford