STANFORD, Calif. – No. 1 Stanford concludes a seven-game homestand when it welcomes No. 16 UCLA and No. 2 USC to Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, starting Thursday at 8 p.m.
The Cardinal (8-0-1) enters the week riding a program-record 31-game unbeaten streak, a run that dates to Aug. 25, 2017. Stanford opened conference play last week with a 2-0 win over Arizona on Friday night. Thursday's game will follow the Stanford men's soccer team's 5 p.m. kickoff against San Diego State with Sunday's 1 p.m. kickoff against USC set to precede the men's 5 p.m. start against UCLA.
Thursday's Opponent, UCLA
• The Cardinal enters Thursday with a 14-12-3 (.534) all-time record against the Bruins (5-2-1, 0-1-0 Pac-12), most recently defeating UCLA, 3-2, in the College Cup final on Dec. 3, 2017. Jaye Boissiere's sublime 25-yard strike in the 67th minute was the difference, giving Stanford it's second national championship. During the regular season, Stanford defeated UCLA, 1-0, in Los Angeles thanks to Jordan DiBiasi's goal in the 28th minute and several key interventions from Alison Jahansouz in net.
• The Bruins opened Pac-12 play with a 1-0 loss against No. 14 Washington State in Los Angeles on Sept. 21 – previously, No. 16 UCLA had won three straight.
• Hailie Mace leads the team in points (8) with four players tied for the team lead in goals (2). Mace and Anika Rodriguez share the team lead in assists (4) with Teagan Micah (3-1-1) handling a bulk of the goalkeeping duties.
A rematch of the 2017 College Cup is coming to The Farm on Thursday...don't miss it!
— Stanford Women's Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) September 25, 2018
?? » https://t.co/HseE7LW0yo#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/S2FiMQX27p
Sunday's Opponent, USC
• Stanford enters Sunday with a 17-5-3 (.740) all-time record against the No. 2-ranked Trojans (8-0-1, 1-0-0 Pac-12), most recently defeating USC, 3-1, in Los Angeles on Oct. 29, 2017, to clinch its third straight Pac-12 title. Kiki Pickett scored her first career goal, Michelle Xiao added another and Catarina Macario's stunning 30-yard free kick put the game out of reach in the second half.
• USC started league play on Sept. 22 with a 3-0 win over Washington. The undefeated Trojans have won five straight, including a 3-0 win at No. 22 Florida on Sept. 2.
• Leah Pruitt leads the team in goals (7) and points (18), while Penelope Hocking and Savannah DeMelo have 14 points apiece. Kaylie Collins has played every game in goal, owning a 0.35 goals-against average and six shutouts. USC has a 26-3 goal difference and ranks second in the Pac-12 in goals per game (2.89).
• Sunday's matchup is the second No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup at Cagan Stadium this season. Top-ranked Stanford defeated No. 2 North Carolina, 2-1, in overtime on Sept. 9.
Unbeaten Streak Alive
• Stanford's program-record unbeaten streak extended to 31 games last week after a 2-0 win over Arizona – Stanford's previous unbeaten record was 28 games from 2011-12. The run is tied for the ninth-longest in NCAA Division I history (Baylor, 2012-13) and the longest since UCLA went 44 games unbeaten from 2013-14. During the streak, Stanford has outscored opponents 105-11. The Cardinal's last loss came on Aug. 25, 2017, at No. 8 Florida.
• The Cardinal's program-record win streak ended at 29 games after a 1-1 double-overtime tie against Santa Clara on Sept. 16. The win streak was the seventh-longest in NCAA Division I history, the longest by any non-North Carolina team and the longest since the Tar Heels won 31 straight from 2003-04.
• Stanford was won its last 19 Pac-12 contests, a streak dating to Oct. 6, 2016.
• Stanford is unbeaten in its last 11 Pac-12 openers, a streak dating to 2007.
• The Cardinal's senior class owns a 32-1-1 record in conference play.
An All-Around Effort
• Nineteen Cardinal have started at least one game – Alana Cook, Jordan DiBiasi and Tegan McGrady are the only student-athletes to start all nine games.
• Seventeen Cardinal have registered at least one point this season while 12 have scored at least once. Macario leads the team in points (12) and co-leads the team in goals with Sophia Smith (4), while DiBiasi leads the team with five assists.
• In net, Alison Jahansouz (6-0-1) and Lauren Rood (2-0-0) have combined for a 0.54 goals-against average and a 0.828 save percentage – the duo has helped Stanford's defense allow just five goals, including only one from open play.
Top of the Polls
• Stanford remains atop the United Soccer Coaches top-25 poll, a spot it has held since Oct. 9, 2017 – USC, North Carolina, Santa Clara and Texas A&M round out the top five.
• Eight of Stanford's 19 regular-season opponents ranked or received votes in the poll – USC (2), North Carolina (3), Santa Clara (4), Washington State (9), Colorado (18), Oregon (RV) and Arizona (RV).
• The Cardinal also owns the top spot in the NCAA's ratings power index (RPI).
Candidate Cook
• Senior captain Alana Cook was named a candidate for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award, as announced Sept. 19. A senior from Far Hills, New Jersey, Cook has started all 78 games since her freshman season – last season, she, along with 2017 Senior CLASS Award winner Andi Sullivan, captained Stanford to its second national championship.
• A two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree and 2017 academic all-region selection, Cook is very active in the community. She has participated in the Gardner Elementary's Walk-A-Thon, Bay Area clinics for Female Footballers and clinics with the Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative. Also active with local American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) teams, Cook also serves in a program in which student-athletes sit with local youth at Stanford's athletic events.
• Cook looks to join Sullivan, Nnemkadi Ogwumike (2012) and Candice Wiggins (2008) as Stanford's only Senior CLASS Award winners.
Davidson to Miss 10-12 Weeks
• Junior management science and engineering major Tierna Davidson will be sidelined for 10-12 weeks with a left ankle injury sustained in a 2-1 win over No. 2 North Carolina on Sept. 9.
"She has remarkable character and is respected by all of her teammates and coaches, which makes her a great leader on and off the field. Her leadership skills have been a critical part of our success throughout her career." #GoStanford https://t.co/z1qMU3rq66
— Stanford Women's Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) September 19, 2018
Off The Farm
• Goalkeeper Alison Jahansouz serves as an analyst at Asset Management Ventures in Palo Alto – she has also interned with Grand Rounds in San Francisco as a data analyst.
• Jahansouz also serves as a research assistant in the Engleman Lab at the Stanford Blood Center, previously working as a research assistant for Matt Spitzer in 2015 at the Stanford Blood Center, studying immunology for breast cancer treatment. In the summer of 2018, Jahansouz served as a graduate researcher in the SURF program at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.
• Midfielder Michelle Xiao currently conducts research under the guidance of Dr. Geoff Abrams, studying the effects of microRNAs on tendinopathy -- as a part of the Stanford Bio-X USRP program, worked in the Stanford Soft Tissue Biomechanics Lab (STBL) analyzing MRI of knee cartilage to detect early osteoarthritic changes.
• During the summer of 2016, Xiao spent time in the medicinal chemistry research lab at the University of Nebraska Medical Center working on synthesizing small molecules that could treat Alzheimer's Disease. She published a paper from this research in the Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters Journal titled "Design and Synthesis of New Piperidone Grafted Acetylcholinesterase".
• Defender Carly Malatskey currently manages Main Quad Rentals at Stanford, which primarily rents beds to Stanford students. Malatskey currently takes classes at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, studying innovation and organization as part of her science, technology and society major.
• In December of 2017, Malatskey participated in an Innovation and Entrepreneurship program in Israel, working with startups and larger companies such as Ebay and Intel.
• In 2017, midfielder Jaye Boissiere was a consulting intern with Z.S. Associates, a healthcare firm, after spending the summer of 2016 researching immigration policy at Stanford's political science department.
• Boissiere has also conducted research on Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia with the Maternal Fetal Medicine department at Stanford Hospital, where she was born.
• Senior Tegan McGrady interned at NBC Bay Area News in the summer of 2018.
• Forward Ceci Gee has coordinated and hosted multiple fundraising events in order to buy and deliver soccer gear for underprivileged girls' soccer teams in Nairobi, Kenya.
• In the summer of 2018, defender Alana Cook interned at SyncThink Inc. under former Stanford head of athletic training Scott Anderson.
• In the summer of 2018, defender Beattie Goad interned in Susie Nilsson's lab at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), focusing on stem cell and cancer research -- presented research at Stanford's human biology symposium on Aug. 10
• Defender Sam Hiatt volunteers at the Northwest Harvest Food Bank and Special Olympics.
• Forward Catarina Macario organized a collective soccer donation of equipment and clothing for children in Brazil.
• Defender Jojo Harber is a six-year member of the National Charity League (2012-17), spending time volunteering with the Special Olympics, YWCA and Northwest Harvest Food Bank.
• Defender Kiki Pickett is a participant in the Food From the Heart program and at the Unity Shoppe.
• Forward Madison Haley is a service coordinator for the Boys & Girls Club in South Dallas, having served as the treasurer for the National Honors Society as well as a tutor at Lee A. McShan Elementary School.
HEADing into the rest of Pac-12 like... @catarina_macario #GoStanford
A post shared by Stanford Women's Soccer (@stanfordwsoc) on Sep 21, 2018 at 10:57pm PDT
2018 Season Recap
• Catarina Macario scored and assisted Jordan DiBiasi's goal in a 2-0 win over Arizona to start Pac-12 play. Alison Jahansouz made two saves to earn the shutout (Sept. 21).
• Sophia Smith scored Stanford's only goal in a 1-1, double-overtime tie against No. 7 Santa Clara, snapping Stanford's 29-game win streak. Alison Jahansouz made four saves and the Cardinal outshot the Broncos, 28-10, in the draw (Sept. 16).
• Madison Haley scored twice and won a penalty kick as Stanford defeated Cal Poly, 3-0, to improve to 7-0-0 on the season. Abby Greubel also scored, and Lauren Rood earned the shutout (Sept. 13).
• Madison Haley scored in the 92nd minute to secure a 2-1 win over No. 2 North Carolina. Catarina Macario finished with two assists, Alison Jahansouz tied a career high with five saves and the Cardinal improved to 6-0-0 while extending its program-record win streak to 28 games (Sept. 9).
• Jordan DiBiasi, Abby Greubel and Sophia Smith scored in Stanford's 3-1 win over Notre Dame (Sept. 7).
• Stanford clinched its longest win streak in program history with a 2-1, overtime win at Minnesota on Sept. 2. Sam Hiatt's golden goal in the 94th minute sealed the win after Beattie Goad opened the scoring in the first half (Sept. 2).
• Goals from Catarina Macario and Jojo Harber, as well as five saves by Alison Jahansouz, lifted Stanford to a 2-0 win at BYU. (Aug. 30)
• The Cardinal improved to 20-0-0, all-time, against San Francisco with a 5-1 win at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. Making her collegiate debut, Sophia Smith scored once and assisted another. Catarina Macario added two goals, Jordan DiBiasi scored with two assists and Civana Kuhlmann upped her team-leading point total to five with one goal and one assist. (Aug. 24)
• Stanford began its 2018 campaign with a convincing 5-0 win at UC Davis. Michelle Xiao, Tierna Davidson, Alana Cook and Civana Kuhlmann scored and Alison Jahansouz handled the only shot she faced all day to earn the shutout. (Aug. 17)
Preseason Awards Wrap Up
• Stanford had an NCAA-high five student-athletes named to the watch list for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, the highest individual honor in college soccer – Tierna Davidson, Catarina Macario, Jaye Boissiere, Tegan McGrady and Alana Cook each made the list.
• Davidson and Macario were named to TopDrawerSoccer's Preseason Best XI first team with Cook and Jordan DiBiasi earning berths on the second XI. McGrady was picked for the third XI while freshman Sophia Smith was named to the freshman XI.
Champions Again
• Stanford captured its second national championship in 2017 after a 3-2 win over UCLA in the College Cup final on Dec. 3, 2017. Jaye Boissiere's goal in the 67th minute broke a 2-2 tie, and Stanford held on for its 22nd win in a row to claim the title.
• The Cardinal also won its 12th Pac-12 Conference Title and third in a row.
• Knowles Family Director of Women's Soccer Paul Ratcliffe was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the eighth time – no other coach has won the award more than twice.
• Andi Sullivan, the winner of the 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy, Tierna Davidson and Catarina Macario were named first-team All-America while a further eight returners eared All-Pac-12 recognition