STANFORD, Calif. – No. 13 Stanford will head to North Carolina this weekend for a pair of top-25 matchups, taking on No. 14 Wake Forest and No. 8 Duke.
The Cardinal opens the weekend slate Friday at 4 p.m. PT against Wake Forest (8-5, 0-4 ACC) before heading to Duke (10-3, 2-1 ACC) Sunday at 9 a.m.
Stanford (10-3, 3-1 NorPac) makes the trip east after completing a dominating homestand that included nine goals and two shutouts. Hope Burke led the team with six points on two goals and two assists for the second consecutive week. Burke was named the NorPac West Division Offensive Player of the Week.
The Cardinal put together a strong defensive performance as well, limiting UC Davis to just two shots on Friday, while Dulcie Davies made seven saves to earn the victory over Yale. Davies, who now has tallied six shutouts, was named the NorPac West Division Defensive Player of the Week.
Stanford’s six shutouts are tied for the second-most in the nation and the team ranks fourth in the NCAA with a 0.97 GAA.
Wake Forest dropped its only match last weekend, falling to No. 2 North Carolina. Despite being 0-4 in the ACC and having five losses overall, each of the Demon Deacons’ defeats have been to teams ranked 13th or higher.
Wake Forest boasts a balanced scoring attack in which 11 players have scored at least one goal. Taylor Rhea leads the Demon Deacons with 17 points and seven goals, followed by Anna Kozniuk (15, 6-3), Holly Brown (11, 5-1) and Kari Walkley (11, 4-3). Valerie Dahmen has appeared in all 13 games and holds a 1.86 GAA and .696 save percentage.
Duke fell to No. 3 Syracuse 2-1 in double-overtime in its only contest last weekend. It was the fourth time the Blue Devils went to double-overtime this season and the first time it was dealt a loss in the extra periods.
Emmie Le Marchand has been the centerpiece of Duke’s offense and leads the team in points (21), goals (7) and assists (7). Jessica Buttinger is second on the team with 13 points (5-3), followed by Heather Morris with 12 (6-0). Lauren Blazing holds a 1.13 GAA and .832 save percentage in net for the Blue Devils.
Stanford is 3-2 against top-25 opponents this season.
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