Oct. 2, 2012

No. 14 Stanford Cardinal (7-4, 1-0 NorPac)
vs.
UC Davis Aggies (6-6, 2-0 NorPac)
Date: Friday, Oct. 5
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Stanford, CA

No. 14 Stanford Cardinal (7-4, 1-0 NorPac)
at
Pacific Tigers (4-8, 0-1 NorPac)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 7
Time: 1 p.m.
Site: Stockton, CA

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STANFORD, Calif.- No. 14 Stanford (7-4, 1-0 NorPac) shifts its focus to conference play this weekend with a pair of contests against NorPac West Division opponents.

Fresh off a 2-1 victory over California in the conference opener for both squads last week, the Cardinal has momentum heading into this week's matchups against UC Davis (6-6, 2-0 NorPac) and Pacific (3-8, 0-1 NorPac).

Stanford should receive an added boost playing at home, with Friday's match against UC Davis representing the first appearance for the Cardinal at the Varsity Turf since Sept. 9.

UC Davis, which is riding its second three-game winning streak of the year, also won three straight games to open the year before enduring a six-game losing skid. UC Davis stunned California 3-1 in its most recent contest, collecting a win over the Golden Bears for the first time since regaining varsity status in 2009. At 2-0 in league play, the Aggies temporarily stand atop the NorPac's West Division standings.

Two days later, Stanford returns to the road for a matchup against Pacific. On paper, this one appears lopsided. The Cardinal has won 11 in a row in the series since the Tigers' most recent victory back on Sept. 30, 2006. Pacific has also lost five of six overall while allowing a league-high 43 goals so far. However, Pacific is coming off a 3-2 road upset of No. 22 Michigan State, which defeated Stanford 2-1 earlier this year.

Courtney Haldeman and Maddie Secco shined for Stanford in last weekend's win over Cal, and both players were awarded NorPac Player of the Week honors as a result. Haldeman (Offensive Player of the Week) scored the game-winner with 11 seconds left while Secco (Rookie of the Week) tallied a goal in her first game back after competing for two weeks in the Junior Pan American Championships. Stanford also extended its dominance in the all-time series, having now won 10 of the last 14 meetings overall and three in a row in Berkeley.

In addition to owning a solid RPI of No. 14, Stanford once again finds itself ranked in the latest edition of the Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll. This week's top-15 is as follows: No. 1 Syracuse, No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 Connecticut, No. 4 Princeton, No. 5 Maryland (tie), No. 5 Virginia (tie), No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Northeastern, No. 9 Northwestern, No. 10 Old Dominion, No. 11 Iowa, No. 12 Boston University, No. 13 Lafayette, No. 14 Stanford and No. 15 Michigan.

After this weekend, the Cardinal will have five games remaining in the regular season before the NorPac Championship gets underway Nov. 1.