Aug. 26, 2009

Stanford Cardinal (0-0, 0-0 NorPac)
vs.
Missouri State Bears (0-0, 0-0 MAC)
Date: Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009
Site: Stanford, CA
Time: 12 p.m.

Up Next
Stanford (0-0, 0-0 NorPac) hosts Missouri State (0-0, 0-0 MAC) on Sunday afternoon in the season opener for both teams. The Cardinal is slated to play just six home games this year, making Sunday's contest that much more important. The Cardinal plays its first three games at home, continuing the homestand next week against Northeastern (Sept. 4) and Kent State (Sept. 6).

Perfect In Scrimmages
Stanford finished the preseason portion of its schedule undefeated in three scrimmages. After beating Pacific and California last week by identical 3-1 scores, Stanford blanked UC Davis today by a 4-0 margin thanks to a pair of goals from Rachel Mozenter and single scores from Katherine Swank and Midori Uehara. In its final scrimmage, the Cardinal outshot the Aggies 28-1 and attempted 10 penalty corners. Stanford outscored its opponents 10-2 combined over three scrimmages.

A Look Back At 2008
Stanford closed out the 2008 season at 9-11 overall, advancing to the NCAA Play-in game for the second straight season. The Cardinal, which won seven of its final nine games, was also crowned NorPac Tournament champions for the second year in a row with a 2-1 victory over No. 16 California.

Scouting Missouri State
Missouri State is coming off a season in which it finished 6-15 overall and 1-9 in MAC play. The Bears are looking for their first victory since a 3-2 overtime win over Ball State back on Sept. 28, 2008, as Missouri State ended last year with 11 straight losses. Good news for the Bears: leading offensive threat Melissa Lantz (17 goals, 40 points, 104 shots) returns for her senior season.

Friday Night Lights
Stanford's match against Northeastern on Friday, Sept. 4, will represent the first-ever night match in school history. That's because the 2009 campaign will feature the addition of lights to the facility, resulting in three regular-season night games. The Varsity Field Hockey Turf, with a seating capacity of 500 and measuring over 111,000 square feet, is now in its 12th year as the Cardinal's home digs.

Schedule Is Tough Once Again
Stanford's 2009 slate features five contests against NCAA Tournament squads from a year ago, including a road tilt against defending national champion Maryland. Stanford hosts Kent State, last year's MAC Tournament champion and an NCAA play-in round participant, on Sept. 6. One week later, the Cardinal plays at Iowa, which reached last year's NCAA Tournament semifinals and won the Big Ten Tournament for a third straight season. Stanford will also face top-25 programs Penn State (Oct. 5) and Louisville (Nov. 1). A Sept. 20 contest against conference newcomer UC Davis kicks off the start of NorPac play, which will have a different look in 2009. Stanford, UC Davis, California and Pacific comprise the West division while Appalachian State, Davidson, Longwood and Radford make up the East division.