Oct. 16, 2012

No. 14 Stanford Cardinal (9-6, 3-0 NorPac)
vs.
Pacific Tigers (5-10, 1-3 NorPac)
Date: Friday, Oct. 19
Time: 4 p.m.
Site: Stanford, CA

No. 14 Stanford Cardinal (9-6, 3-0 NorPac)
at
UC Davis (6-9, 2-1 NorPac)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 20
Time: 6 p.m.
Site: Davis, CA

No. 14 Stanford Cardinal (9-6, 3-0 NorPac)
vs. California Golden Bears (5-9, 1-3 NorPac)
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 23
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Stanford, CA
TV: P12NET (PBP: Leah Secondo, Analyst: Kara Lentz)

STANFORD, Calif.- Only three games remain in the regular season for No. 14 Stanford (9-6, 3-0 NorPac), which has the opportunity to lock up another conference title while building momentum heading into the postseason.

The Cardinal will play three games over a five-day stretch, with all of those contests coming against NorPac opponents. The busy sequence begins on Friday, Oct. 19, when Stanford hosts Pacific in a 4 p.m. tilt at the Varsity Turf. After a road game at UC Davis the next day, the Cardinal returns to The Farm and hosts rival California in a rare Tuesday game that was moved up three days to accommodate a Pac-12 Networks telecast.

Stanford has already defeated all three teams during the first round of conference play. The Cardinal can claim the regular season title outright with a pair of victories this weekend. Up first is Pacific (5-10, 1-3 NorPac), a program Stanford has won 12 in a row against since 2006. Meanwhile, a 5-0 shutout of UC Davis two weeks ago gives Stanford the inside track and tiebreaker edge over the Aggies (6-9, 2-1 NorPac).

While the upcoming schedule obviously presents a challenge, Stanford is well-equipped to deal with the rapid-fire stretch thanks to its balanced depth.

A solid bounce-back effort would be a welcomed sight, as the Cardinal suffered hard-fought losses to No. 1 Syracuse and No. 4 Connecticut over the weekend. For only the fifth time in the last four years, Stanford has lost back-to-back games.

With just two weeks left in the regular season, it's also an ideal time to examine Stanford's postseason chances. As usual, the winner of the NorPac Championship (Nov. 1-3 at Farmville, Va., hosted by Longwood) must also prevail in an NCAA Play-In game to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, as the conference does not own an automatic bid. During the past five years, Stanford has been that team, winning four conference tournament titles and three NCAA Play-In games.

The winner of this year's NorPac Tournament faces the conference tournament champion of the Mid-American Conference.

Last year, Stanford performed well enough during the regular season to earn an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Boasting a high RPI and strong national profile, the Cardinal was awarded its highest-ever postseason position with a No. 7 seed among the 16-team field.

The Cardinal has appeared in the national rankings every week of this year, topping out at No. 11 on two occasions last month. In the latest edition of the RPI, published bi-weekly during the season and considered a vital tool in the NCAA Tournament selection process, Stanford checks in at No. 13.

Stanford has played an extremely grueling schedule to date, matching up against seven top-25 clubs while facing the nation's No. 1-ranked team on three different occasions. The Cardinal has chalked up a 2-5 record in those games, however the experience should prove valuable for the postseason.

Courtney Haldeman's career-high eight goals leads the club while Becky Dru has compiled team-best totals in assists (7), points (21) and shots (36) to go along with seven goals of her own. Hope Burke (four goals, six assists, 14 points), Maddie Secco (four goals, 10 points, 24 shots) and Katie Mitchell (4 goals, nine points, 14 shots) are close behind.