No. 1 OverallNo. 1 Overall
Women's Soccer

No. 1 Overall

NCAA Bracket Opens in a new window

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford earned the No. 1 overall seed into the NCAA women's soccer tournament and will play host to Houston Baptist in the first round on Friday at 7 p.m. (PT).
 
The Cardinal (17-1-1, 10-1 Pac-12) is seeded to host the first four rounds – all the way through the quarterfinals. This will be Stanford's 26th NCAA Tournament appearance and 19th consecutive.
 
If the Cardinal wins its first-round match, the second- and third-round matches will be played at Stanford the weekend of Nov. 18-20. The quarterfinal would be Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. The Cardinal has played host to the first four rounds seven of the past eight years, advancing to the College Cup in six of those seven seasons.
 
"I'm proud of the team, they had an outstanding regular season," said Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe. "Hopefully we can capitalize on this opportunity. Having the one-seed helps, we'll be playing at home the entire tournament."
 
Houston Baptist (10-10-1, 5-5-1 Southland) won the Southland championship after defeating Stephen F. Austin, 1-0, in the championship game this past Sunday. The Huskies will play in their second NCAA Tournament in the past three years.
 
"Any team that gets into the NCAA playoffs is obviously deserving," said Ratcliffe. "I'm sure they'll be a competitive group and we'll have to be prepared for that game. It's going to have to be business as usual for each game."

Jane Campbell discusses getting the No. 1 seed an preparing for the NCAA Tournament.

Stanford earned its 11th Pac-12 title this past weekend and sixth championship in the past eight seasons. The Cardinal led the Pac-12 in goals scored with 48 overall and 27 in conference play.
 
Stanford is among six Pac-12 schools to receive NCAA invitations. The Cardinal, which is 10-1-1 this season against teams in the 64-team NCAA Tournament field, owns a 29-match home unbeaten streak in NCAA play. Stanford has won 10 consecutive first-round matches – all but one at home.
 
Last year, Stanford earned a convincing 2-0 victory against San Jose State in the first round of the tournament. The Cardinal held a 16-3 shot advantage and advanced on a goal by Averie Collins and a Spartans own-goal.
 
If the seeds hold, Stanford would face Santa Clara in the second round, Minnesota in the third and Georgetown in the quarterfinal. Stanford played each of those teams earlier this season and went 3-0 against them. The Cardinal outscored those three opponents by a combined score of, 9-2.

Maddie Bauer discusses playing in her final NCAA Tournament and wanting to make it a postseason to remember.

Last year, Stanford played to a 1-1 draw against Duke but fell 4-3 in penalty kicks. So what will it take for Stanford to advance through the bracket and earn its seventh trip to the College Cup in the past nine years?
 
"Hopefully we use last year as motivation," said Ratcliffe. "It's always difficult to get to the College Cup and last year we were disappointed so hopefully this year we'll have more determination and be able to get there and win a national championship."
 
Tickets will go on sale Tuesday at 9 a.m. and are $15 for reserved seats. For bleachers, tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students, youths, and seniors. Call 1-800-STANFORD for more information.