STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford has earned one of four No. 1 seeds for the NCAA women’s soccer tournament and has earned home-field advantage through the quarterfinals. The Cardinal (17-1-2) enters its 24th NCAA tournament at No. 1 in the RPI and No. 3 in the NSCAA and Soccer America rankings. Stanford was the Pac-12 runner-up and plays host to Cal State Fullerton (10-7-4), the Big West Conference regular-season and tournament champion, in a rematch of last year’s first-round match won by Stanford, 1-0.
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The following is a closer look at Friday’s match:
Who: No. 3 Stanford (17-1-2) vs. Cal State Fullerton (10-7-4)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, Stanford, Calif.
All-Time Series Record: Stanford leads, 2-0.
Webstream: Click here
Live Stats: Click here
Twitter: @StanfordWSoccer
Tickets: Click here
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Stanford Season Highlights:
• Finished second to overall top seed UCLA in the Pac-12, trailing by only three points in the standings, 31-28.
• Earned its 17th consecutive NCAA tournament bid and 24th overall.
• Awarded a No. 1 seed into the tournament and home-field through the first four rounds.
• Finished the regular-season No. 1 in the RPI and No. 3 in the NSCAA rankings.
• Got three hat tricks this season -- two by Ryan Walker-Hartshorn and one by Taylor Uhl.
• Andi Sullivan was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
• Opened season with a double-overtime winner from Chioma Ubogagu to beat North Carolina for the first time in 13 tries.
• Unscored upon during the nonconference season, during a nine-match schedule that included five ranked teams.
• Compiled a school-record shutout streak of 893 minutes, 58 seconds, dating back to the end of the 2013 season.
• Beat No. 6 Florida, 1-0, on a penalty kick by Lo’eau LaBonta in overtime.
• Paul Ratcliffe earned his 200th coaching victory at Stanford, during an 8-0 rout of Dayton on Sept. 14.
• Set a school record with 48 shots, in beating Oregon State, 7-0.
• Shut out 15 opponents in 20 matches.
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Friday’s Opponent, Cal State Fullerton: The Titans captured the Big West Conference double, winning the regular season with a 6-0-2 record and following with the tournament crown. Fullerton beat Long Beach State, 2-1, in the final in San Luis Obispo for its second consecutive tournament title. The Titans have won seven straight and are on a 10-match unbeaten streak, but are 0-3-1 against NCAA tournament teams. CSUF alum Demian Brown, in his eighth season, was named Big West Coach of the Year for the third time. Junior forward Rebecca Wilson has 10 goals and 3 assists for a team-leading 33 points. She was the Big West Offensive Player of the Year, and junior midfielder Christian Burkenroad was the conference tournament MVP after scoring winning goals in both Titan victories.
The Cal State Fullerton-Stanford Series: Stanford holds a 2-0-0 lead in the all-time series, including a 1-0 victory in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Nov. 15, 2013. Taylor Uhl scored the only goal. She received a cross from Courtney Verloo and headed it off the crossbar, before collecting the rebound and striking a right-footed shot across the goal-mouth and inside the left post, at 14:00. In their first meeting, on Sept. 17, 2004, Marcie Ward scored twice to lead the Cardinal to a 2-0 victory at the Stanford Nike Invitational.
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Beyond the First Round: The Stanford-CSUF winner plays the winner of Oklahoma (10-8-4) and Arkansas (8-6-6), at the home of the highest seed. If Stanford wins Friday, it will play host to the second and third rounds, on Nov. 21 and Nov. 23. In that case, there will be a second-round doubleheader at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., the nightcap involving Stanford. The first match would pit the first-round Washington-Rider winner against the Missouri-Kansas winner. The doubleheader winners play each other Sunday at 1 p.m.
Stanford’s NCAA History: The Cardinal has qualified for 17 consecutive NCAA tournaments and 24 overall. The Cardinal has won its past 21 home NCAA tournament matches, has advanced past the first round the past eight seasons, and has reached five NCAA College Cups in the past six years. Stanford’s all-time NCAA tournament record is 41-19-5 (.669). The Cardinal won the 2011 NCAA championship, with current players Chioma Ubogagu and Kendall Romine among the starters.
Stanford vs. NCAA Teams: The Cardinal is 10-1-1 against teams in this year's tournament field. Here are Stanford's results:
Aug. 22: Stanford 1, at North Carolina 0, OT
Sept. 7: at Stanford 0, Notre Dame 0, 2OT
Sept. 12: at Stanford 1, Florida 0, OT
Sept. 14: at Stanford 8, Dayton 0
Oct. 3: at Stanford 4, Washington 1
Oct. 5: at Stanford 1, Washington State 0
Oct. 9: at UCLA 2, Stanford 1
Oct. 12: Stanford 1, at USC 0
Oct. 16: at Stanford 3, Colorado 0
Oct. 24: Stanford 3, at Arizona 2, 2OT
Oct. 26: Stanford 2, at Arizona State 0
Nov. 6: Stanford 3, at California 2
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Stanford’s Situational Records:
• When scoring first: 16-1-1
• When opponents score first: 1-0
• When leading at halftime: 11-0
• When tied at halftime: 7-1-1
• When trailing at halftime: 0-0
• When trailing at any time: 1-1
• At Home: 10-0-1
• At Opponent: 6-1-1
• At Neutral Field: 1-0
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Stanford’s All-Pac-12 Honors:
Freshman of the Year
Andi Sullivan
First team
Lo’eau LaBonta, sr., M
Andi Sullivan, fr., M
Chioma Ubogagu, sr., F
Second team
Jane Campbell, so., GK
Honorable mention
Stephanie Amack, so., D/M
Laura Liedle, jr., D
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Stanford's Fall Success, with current rankings:
Women's volleyball (25-0), No. 1
Men's water polo (21-3), No. 2
Women's soccer (17-1-2), No. 3
Men's soccer (12-2-3), No. 3
Field hockey (18-2), No. 8
Men's cross country, No. 9
Women's cross country, No. 10