Oct. 12, 2010

vs. No. 8 Syracuse Orange (8-4, 3-0 Big East)
Date: Friday, Oct. 15
Site: Albany, N.Y.
Time: 9 a.m. PT

vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-9, 1-3 Big East)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 17
Site: Providence, R.I.
Time: 10 a.m. PT

at Northeastern Huskies (6-7, 2-2 CAA)
Date: Monday, Oct. 18
Site: Boston, MA
Time: 11 a.m. PT

STANFORD, Calif.- No. 20 Stanford embarks on its final extended road trip of the year this weekend, heading to the East Coast for a stretch that features three games to be played over a four-day span.

The Cardinal (8-3, 3-1 NorPac) is riding a three-game winning streak with five contests left to play in the regular season. Stanford has fared well away from home, posting a 4-1 mark in true road games and 2-0 in neutral site matches.

The biggest challenge of the road trip will come right away, as Stanford battles No. 8 Syracuse in Albany, N.Y. on Friday morning. The matchup against a top-10 opponent is nothing new for Stanford, which has already faced three other programs ranked in the nation's top-10.

The Cardinal has performed well in such games, upsetting No. 8 Wake Forest 4-2 on the road while staying competitive in hard-fought losses to No. 7 Michigan State (3-2 at home) and No. 1 North Carolina (2-1 on the road).

Get past Syracuse on Friday, and Stanford would have an opportunity to come away with a winning road trip as Rutgers and Northeastern both enter the week with sub-.500 records.

Stanford has now spent a school-record 16 consecutive weeks in the national rankings dating back to Sept. 18, 2009. But for whatever reason, this time around that streak was surprisingly close to being in jeopardy. The Cardinal entered last week ranked No. 17 in the country and routed Harvard 6-0 last Friday in its only match. But instead of climbing in the polls, Stanford actually dropped three spots to No. 20.

Meanwhile, Katherine Donner was honored as the NorPac's West Division Offensive Player of the Week. Donner tallied a team-best two goals in last week's win over Harvard, leading Stanford's dominating offensive effort over the Crimson. It was the first career conference honor for Donner.

League accolades are nothing new for the Cardinal, which has racked up six NorPac Player of the Week honors in 2010. The award winners include:
Jaimee Erickson (Aug. 31 - Offensive Player of the Week)
Stephanie Byrne (Sept. 14 - Offensive Player of the Week)
Alessandra Moss (Sept. 14 - Defensive Player of the Week)
Alessandra Moss (Sept. 28 - Defensive Player of the Week)
Stephanie Byrne (Oct. 5 - Offensive Player of the Week)
Katherine Donner (Oct. 12 - Offensive Player of the Week)