Oct. 29, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

LIVE: Stanford-California (Sat., Nov. 1 - 1 p.m.)

Soza Says: Winning In Strokes, Senior Day, Cal Next

Stanford Cardinal (5-10, 3-2 NorPac)
vs.
No. 16 California Golden Bears (12-3, 5-0 NorPac)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
Site: Stanford, CA
Time: 1 p.m.

Up Next
Rivals Stanford (5-10, 3-2 NorPac) and No. 16 California (12-3, 5-0 NorPac) hook up in the regular season finale for both schools on Saturday at the Varsity Turf. The Golden Bears have put together one of the best seasons in school history, claiming the NorPac regular season title and looking to improve to 6-0 in conference play. The Cardinal is hoping to improve its seeding for next week's NorPac Tournament, build off recent momentum and string together another late-season charge.

Senior Day Salute
Seniors Hillary Braun, Chloe Bade and Bailey Richardson will be honored in a ceremony prior to Saturday's 1 p.m. contest.

Saturday's Significance
In addition to picking up a rare victory over a rival, Saturday's contest carries a great deal of signifance for defending NorPac Tournament champion Stanford. As next week's conference tournament approaches, the Cardinal still has a chance to improve its seeding. California has locked down the No. 1 seed thanks to a 5-0 mark in league play, Appalachian State is No. 6 and Davidson holds down the No. 7 spot. If Stanford wins, the Cardinal earns the No. 2 seed and would not face the Golden Bears unless the squads matched up in the championship match. If Stanford loses, the Cardinal drops to the No. 5 seed because of head-to-head losses against Radford and Longwood and a 3-3 record compared to Pacific's 4-2 mark. The NorPac Tournament will be played in Farmville, Va., and hosted by Longwood.

NorPac Tournament Seeding If Stanford Loses To California:
(1) California, (2) Pacific, (3) Radford, (4) Longwood, (5) Stanford, (6) Appalachian State, (7) Davidson

Scouting California
Everything continues to click for California, which enters the week as a fixture in the national rankings and the leader in the conference. The Golden Bears have won six of their last seven overall. Furthermore, California has won 19 of the last 20 games played against Stanford with 13 of those Golden Bear victories decided by one goal. The lone Cardinal victory during that stretch was last year's memorable 3-1 triumph in the NorPac Tournament championship game. California edged Stanford 2-1 last week in Berkeley, but that was the first matchup between the two schools so it did not affect the NorPac standings.

Moss Honored By NorPac...Again
Redshirt freshman Alessandra Moss has been awarded her third NorPac Player of the Week honor of the year. Moss made a pair of key saves in Stanford's 2-1 penalty stroke win over Pacific last week, earning NorPac Defensive Player of the Week honors. She was also named Defensive Player of the Week for Sept. 16 and Rookie of the Week for Sept. 30. Despite entering the week at 5-10 overall and 3-2 in NorPac play, Stanford has been honored with a total of six Player of the Week awards.