NCAA Tournament Opening Round Nov. 8 • Stanford, Calif.
No. 16 Stanford (13-7) | Tickets • NCAA Tournament Bracket
Miami (Ohio) (11-8) | Wed. • 2:00 p.m. (PT) • Live Stream • Live Stats
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STANFORD, Calif. - No. 16 Stanford returns home after defending its America East Championship last week to host Miami (Ohio) in an NCAA Opening Round game this Wednesday at 2 p.m. on Varsity Turf. The winner of Wednesday's game will advance to face No. 2 Duke in Durham, S.C. on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. PT.
On Tap - Miami (Ohio) RedHawks:
The RedHawks will enter into Wednesday's match-up with an 11-8 record after winning the Mid-American Conference for their fourth NCAA appearance. Miami enters with a 1-4 record in NCAA games while facing a Cardinal team that has gone to the postseason the last four years. All-time against Miami (Ohio) under Tara Danielson the Cardinal is 3-0 with the last meeting against the RedHawks also being played on The Farm on September 6, 2015 in a 1-0 win in overtime with eight current Cardinal competing in the game.
NCAA Tourney History:
Tara Danielson's teams are no stranger to the NCAA Tournament as the Cardinal has advanced in seven of her eight seasons on The Farm with a record of 1-7.
Now called the NCAA Opening Round, previously Opening Round games were known as Play-In games - which Tara Danielson has gone 2-0 in. The first was in her first season on The Farm in 2010 defeating her alma mater UMass in Amherst, Mass. 2-1 and the last ironically was against Wednesday's opponent, Miami (Ohio) in 2012 with a 4-1 Cardinal victory in Farmville, Va.
All-time the Cardinal has advanced to the NCAA Tournament 16 times and holds a record of 1-15.
The Best of the America East... Remains in the West:
In only three years in the America East Conference, the Cardinal has claimed the title twice, with back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017.
Last week saw the Cardinal dominate UMass Lowell 5-1 to open the tournament before a gritty 3-2 comeback win in overtime in the semifinals against Pacific before routing UNH 4-1 in the championship to remain the best in the America East.
Varsity Spells Victory:
Most teams like to play at home in the comfy confines of their own stadium. The Cardinal LOVES Varsity Turf. Under head coach Tara Danielson, Stanford has a home record of 56-11 - an incredible 83% winning percentage. Thus far this season the Cardinal is a perfect 6-0 on its own home turf.
In the Polls:
Stanford checks in this week with a No. 16 ranking - the 77th consecutive week that the Cardinal has been ranked in the NFHCA poll - dating back to Nov. 9, 2010.
Game of Numbers:
- 4 - freshmen that have played in every game
- 73 - winning percentage (123-45) Danielson has in her tenure at Stanford (All-time 129-58 - 69%)
- 10 - career shutouts for Kelsey Bing
Earning Hardware the Hard Way:
With another impressive season under Stanford's belt, the Cardinal was prominently honored by the America East in conference awards and for the All-Tournament Team.
Goalkeeper of the Year - Kelsey Bing
Rookie of the Year - Corinne Zanolli
America East West Division Team
Kristina Bassi
Kelsey Bing
Katie Keyser
Nina Randolph
Millie Stefanowicz
Corinne Zanolli
America East All-Rookie Team
Frances Carstens
Sarah Johnson
Corinne Zanolli
America East All-Tournament Team
Kelsey Bing
Sarah Helgeson
Katie Keyser
Corinne Zanolli
America East Tournament Most Outstanding Player
Sarah Helgeson
With the regular season completed, the Cardinal earned at least one individual award in six of the 10 weeks of play, which includes a 10-day break. The list is as follows:
August 29 - Kelsey Bing - Defensive Player of the Week
September 6 – Corinne Zanolli - Rookie of the Week
September 19 – Kelsey Bing – Defensive Player of the Week
September 26 – Corinne Zanolli – Rookie of the Week
October 24 - Corinne Zanolli - Rookie of the Week
October 30 - Kristina Bassi - Offensive Player of the Week
Youth Movement:
The Cardinal roster boasts a combination of both experienced upperclassmen and hungry freshmen and sophomore classes. In Stanford's 20 games four freshmen have started with rookie and Max Preps top-10 recruit Corinne Zanolli leading the offense with 15 goals and 10 assists for 40 points.
To Be the Best You Must Play the Best:
Danielson is notorious for having one of the hardest schedules in the NCAA - with this year being no different. Right out of the gate the Cardinal's first six opponents this season were all ranked in the top-25. Four of the seven Cardinal losses on the year have come against top-20 ranked teams including No. 1 UConn and No. 14 Northwestern. An updated RPI released this week has Stanford ranked 18th in the NCAA.
Bring Your Green Hat Snoop-A-Loop, We're Going Streaking!
Stanford this season amassed an impressive seven-game win streak, which was snapped by Ohio State in overtime. Though Danielson's teams are no stranger to streaking - the Cardinal put together a nine-game win streak in 2011 before the 2014 team shattered the school record for consecutive wins with 12. While a daunting task to achieve with one of the hardest schedules in the NCAA, the 2017 Cardinal has already started another streak... winning the last five games.