May 21, 2012
STANFORD, Calif. - The Stanford women's soccer team will begin to defend its national championship when it opens its season against local rival Santa Clara on Aug. 17.
Stanford's 19-match schedule includes contests against nine 2011 NCAA tournament teams, with six of those opponents advancing beyond the first round and two - Penn State and Boston College - advancing to the third round. Of those, Boston College will come to Stanford.
Other notable characteristics of the schedule for Stanford: the annual Pac-12 showdown with UCLA will take place on a Monday night, on Oct. 29 in Los Angeles; and Stanford plays only two of its final eight regular-season matches at home.
The Boston College showdown will be rematch from the past three NCAA tournaments. Boston College will attempt to gain a measure of revenge against Stanford, which has eliminated the Eagles all three times, including a 2-0 result last season at Stanford.
Stanford will have nine home dates, not including an exhibition against Fresno State on Aug. 10 (7 p.m.) at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
The Santa Clara match marks the official opening of the season a week later. Santa Clara is the most common opponent in Stanford's history. Though Santa Clara leads the all-time series 18-13-5, Stanford has won their past six meetings.
The following week, Stanford travels to the Penn State Invitational, where the Cardinal will face Penn State in a rematch of last year's 4-0 season-opening victory for Stanford. However, this provides an opportunities to play against 2011 Hermann Trophy finalist Maya Hayes on her home turf.
Last year, Hayes scored a national-leading 31 goals and had eight assists for a Nittany Lions' team that won its 14th consecutive Big Ten regular-season title. Stanford will play Penn State on Aug. 24 and follow with West Virginia on Aug. 26.
At the 17th annual Stanford Nike Invitational, Stanford will play Boston University and Georgetown, with Santa Clara playing Georgetown as part of Sept. 7 doubleheader at Cagan Stadium.
The conference season includes five home matches, with 2011 NCAA tournament teams Oregon State (Sept. 27) and Washington State (Oct. 18) highlighted the Pac-12 home schedule.
Because of adjustments made to accommodate the new Pac-12 Network, the schedule features an assortment of unconventional times and dates, rather than the traditional Friday-Sunday schedule.
This year, there will be three Thursday night conference matches, a Friday match with a 1 p.m. local-time start (at Utah), and a Sunday night contest (against visiting Washington), in addition to the Monday Night Soccer showdown against the Bruins.
Home Schedule:
Aug. 17, Santa Clara, 7 p.m.; Aug. 31, Boston College, 4 p.m.; Sept. 7, Boston University, 7 p.m.; Sept. 9, Georgetown, noon; Sept. 23, Arizona State, 2 p.m.; Sept. 27, Oregon State, 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 30, Oregon, noon; Oct. 18, Washington State, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 21, Washington, 5:30 p.m.
Click here for the full schedule.