STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford women's lacrosse earned its way into the NCAA Tournament and will play Notre Dame in the first round on Friday in Evanston, Ill. The game time is to be determined.
The winner of Stanford and Notre Dame will play fourth-seeded Northwestern at Lany and Sharon Martin Stadium on Sunday at 11 a.m. PT.
This will be the ninth NCAA appearance for Stanford, and eight in 11 seasons under head coach Amy Bokker. This is the fourth time Stanford has reached the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons (all under Coach Bokker). The Cardinal fell to Virginia in the first round last season in Harrisonburg, Va.
The Pac-12 will have three of its six teams in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in conference history. USC and Colorado will also represent the league among the 28 tournament selections.
Stanford is 2-8 all-time in NCAA Tournament play and advanced to the second round in 2013 and 2016. Coincidentally, Stanford's first NCAA victory came against Notre Dame at Northwestern -- the same opponent and site as this year's first round matchup. The Cardinal won that one, 8-7, and a full recap is here.
Stanford and Notre Dame are familiar with each other. The Cardinal is 7-10 all-time against the Irish. The last meeting was in 2016, where the Irish won the season opener in South Bend, 13-9.
Stanford finished the regular season at 13-5 overall and 7-3 in conference play. Sophomore Ali Baiocco leads the Pac-12 with 78 points, which also ranks third in school history, while fellow All-Pac-12 first team honoree Julia Massaro has already broke her own school record with 101 draw controls this season.
The Cardinal has won at least 12 games in all but one of the 11 seasons under Coach Bokker.
We're in! NCAA Tourney bound! #NCAALax #GoStanford
A post shared by Stanford Women's Lax (@stanfordwlax) on May 5, 2019 at 5:16pm PDT
#GoStanford