Aug. 12, 2011

STANFORD, Calif.- Having arrived on campus Wednesday and with a couple practices now in the books, the Cardinal can look ahead to the first of three exhibitions next week.

Stanford will host California on Tuesday, Aug. 16, at 7 p.m. in the first of three exhibition matches to be played over a nine-day stretch.

Other exhibitions on tap for the Cardinal include: Sunday, Aug. 21, vs. Pacific (12 p.m.) and Wednesday, Aug. 24, vs. University of Alberta (11 a.m.).

The regular season begins on Saturday, Aug. 27, when Stanford squares off against Hofstra in a neutral site contest to be played in Storrs, Ct. After starting the season at home for the previous nine years, Stanford opens on the road for the second straight year in 2011.

That contest begins a four-game road swing, as matchups against 2010 NCAA Tournament participants Connecticut and Albany follow, on Sunday, Aug. 28, and Wednesday, Aug. 31, respectively. The extended road stretch concludes with a matchup against Yale on Saturday, Sept. 3.

There are two schedule changes to note heading into the regular season. Stanford will now host California on Friday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m., with the Cardinal traveling to Berkeley to face the Golden Bears on Sunday, Oct. 16, at 1 p.m.

The original version of the schedule featured a swap of home sites, with Cal hosting the Sept. 23 game and Stanford serving as the home team on Oct. 16.

Stanford (15-6, 5-1 NorPac) was impressive once again in 2010, making its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance and capturing the NorPac Tournament title for the fourth straight year. Tara Danielson became the school's winningest first-year head coach, as the Cardinal remained a fixture in the national rankings for all but one week. Xanthe Travlos was named an All-American for the second straight season, leading a balanced team attack in which 18 players appeared in at least one game, 15 scored at least one goal and 16 registered at least one point.