May 12, 2010
Game Notes
Live Bracket
National Collegiate Championship Central
Friday, May 14
- vs. - Pomona-Pitzer - 4 p.m. - San Diego, Calif.
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford, the top seed at this weekend's National Collegiate Championship, opens up quarterfinal play against No. 8 seed Pomona-Pitzer Friday at 4 p.m. at San Diego State's Aztec Aquaplex.
Last Time Out
The Cardinal entered the MPSF Tournament as the top seed two weeks ago but fell short of the title, settling for third place at UCLA's Spieker Aquatic Complex. Despite opening the tournament with a 10-5 quarterfinal victory over No. 8 seed Arizona State on April 30, Stanford suffered a 7-6 upset at the hands of the host Bruins the next day. Yet the team would rebound Sunday, routing California by a score of 10-3 in the third-place game. Senior two-meter defender Jessica Steffens was the lone Cardinal player named to the All-Tournament Team.
About The Opposition
Pomona-Pitzer (18-14) earned its second bid to the National Collegiate Championship in the last three years by winning the SCIAC Tournament with a 12-11 overtime title-game win over Occidental.
The Sagehens are led by SCIAC Athlete of the Year Tamara Perea, along with All-SCIAC first-team performers Karen Bonner, Sarah Tuggy and Sarah Woods.
Stanford is 2-0 all-time against Pomona-Pitzer.
In The National Rankings
The Cardinal enter this weekend's National Collegiate Championship ranked No. 3 in the Varsity Top 20 Poll. It is the lowest the team has been ranked all season. Stanford has had two stints in the poll's top spot during the 2010 season.
Stanford At The National Collegiate Championship
Stanford's at-large selection to the 2010 National Collegiate Championship continues the team's distinction of being the only school to reach every single tournament since its inception in 2001. The Cardinal has won one national title, turning the trick in 2002, and has never finished lower than third nationally. Along with Stanford's national title in 2002, the Cardinal has finished second and third at the National Collegiate Championship four times each. More recently, the Cardinal has finished third in three of the last four years.
Familiar Faces In San Diego
Much of the eight-team field at this weekend's National Collegiate Championship will look very familiar to Stanford, as the Cardinal has faced off against five of the eight teams already this season. Heading into this weekend, Stanford has racked up a record of 8-2 against those five teams, losing only to USC (Feb. 28) and UCLA (April 25). Despite those two losses, the Cardinal still holds winning records against both teams in 2010, going 2-1 against both USC and UCLA.
One Last Shot
This weekend's National Collegiate Championship run represents the final shot for Stanford's senior class to claim that elusive national title. The quartet of Kelly Eaton, Kelsey Holshouser, Alex Koran and Jessica Steffens has combined for 93 of Stanford's 302 goals so far this year, and has helped the Cardinal to two third-place finishes and a runner-up effort over the last three years.
A Title Brings Stanford Closer
Stanford's pursuit of its second NCAA title this weekend is significant to the school's athletic department as well as to just the program. With the Stanford men's volleyball team's NCAA title win on May 8, the school has now won 98 NCAA titles, only two shy of becoming just the second school to reach 100 NCAA titles. Should the Stanford women be successful this weekend, it will give Stanford 99 NCAA titles, leaving the school just one shy of the century mark.
Danger At Two Meters
One of the keys to Stanford's success this weekend will be the team's play at the two-meter position. On the offensive end, sophomore Melissa Seidemann is the team's leading scorer with 48 goals while freshman Annika Dries is tied for third with 32 goals. Jessica Steffens has added 17 goals to the effort, while making most of her contributions on the defensive end, where she has made numerous field blocks to help anchor the Cardinal defense.
Among The MPSF Leaders
On the individual side of the MPSF statistics, sophomore Melissa Seidemann is tied for fifth in the conference with 1.85 goals per game, while Kelly Eaton is seventh with 1.73. Pallavi Menon and Annika Dries, who are tied for 19th with 1.23 goals per game, round out the Cardinal players in the conference's top 20.
Freshman goalie Kate Baldoni leads the conference with a 2.06 goals-against average, while junior Amber Oland is second with a 4.33 figure.
On a team level, Stanford is second in the MPSF with 11.62 goals a game, and is tied for the conference lead with a 5.00 goals-against average.