STANFORD, Calif. – No. 1 Stanford was picked first in the Pac-12 preseason coaches poll, tallying 25 points and all five available first-place votes. The Cardinal also placed three on the All-Pac-12 preseason team in Amir Bashti, Tanner Beason and Jared Gilbey.
The Cardinal cemented its dynasty in December when it beat Indiana 1-0 in the College Cup final to become just the second school to win three consecutive NCAA championships. Stanford, 52-7-10 during its three-year championship run, did not allow a goal throughout the entire tournament for the second straight year and upped its NCAA-record postseason shutout streak to 12 - a stretch of 1,214 minutes and 20 seconds.
Stanford, which has also won four straight Pac-12 titles while posting a 30-3-7 (.838) conference record since 2014, will head into this season unbeaten in its last 15 matches.
Bashti, who scored a personal-best six times a season ago, is the Cardinal's leading returning goal scorer and has 12 career goals and seven career assists in his three years on The Farm.
A team captain this season, Beason has started all 46 matches at left back the past two years while contributing seven goals and five assists. Stanford has posted a 0.47 goals against average with 29 shutouts with Beason in the lineup and its 0.382 goals against average in 2017 set a Pac-12 record.
A junior, Gilbey has made 41 starts in the central midfield during his first two seasons and assisted on nine goals. Last season, he was second on the team, tied for fourth in the Pac-12 and tied for 79th in the country with six assists and also set up Tomas Hilliard-Arce's winning header in the quarterfinals at Wake Forest which sent Stanford to the College Cup.
Season ticket memberships, group experiences and single-game tickets are currently on sale by visiting gostanford.com/msoctickets or calling 800-STANFORD.
Twelve of Stanford's 20 matches are at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, including a pair of free exhibitions against Saint Mary's (Aug. 14) and CSUN (Aug. 18). The Cardinal has posted a 37-3-8 (.854) record at home over the past four seasons with a goals against average of 0.50.
Stanford's regular-season home opener is on Friday, Aug. 24 at 5 p.m. against San Jose State. Among a number of promotions, the first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive shirts commemorating the program's three consecutive NCAA championships. Stanford will also celebrate Cardinal Kids Day against the Spartans and fans can receive up to two free youth tickets with the purchase of one paid adult ticket by visiting this link.
A full list of promotions and giveaways for the 2018 season can be found at gostanford.com/msocpromotions.
2018 Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank | School | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford | 25 (5) |
| 2 | Washington | 19 |
| 3 | UCLA | 18 (1) |
| 4 | California | 14 |
| 5 | Oregon State | 7 |
| 6 | San Diego State | 7 |