No. 15 Stanford Hosts NorPac Conference Tourney; Opens Against Appalachian State Thursday At 1:30 p.m.

No. 15 Stanford's march to the postseason begins Thursday afternoon, as the Cardinal looks to capture its third consecutive conference tournament title.

	No. 15 Stanford's march to the postseason begins Thursday afternoon, as the Cardinal looks to capture its third consecutive conference tournament title.

Nov. 3, 2009

Thursday, 1:30 p.m.: Where Will You Be? | Tournament Central

2008: Gandhi's Goal Clinches Double-OT Thriller | 2007: Stanford Claims First Tourney Crown Since 2000

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STANFORD, Calif.- No. 15 Stanford's march to the postseason begins Thursday afternoon, as the Cardinal looks to capture its third consecutive conference tournament title.

For the second time in three years, Stanford (13-4, 5-1 NorPac) will host the NorPac Championship as the action gets underway Thursday morning at the Varsity Turf. Instead of the traditional seven-team alignment, the NorPac now includes eight schools thanks to the addition of UC Davis and is split into two divisions (West, East) with a true round-robin format for regular-season play.

Stanford secured the No. 1 seed in the West Division, while Radford was awarded the No. 1 spot in the East Division. The opening round of the tournament begins Thursday with cross-divisional matchups featuring all eight teams.

For the past two years, the tournament hardware has belonged to Stanford. The Cardinal edged California 2-1 in double-overtime last season, with Camille Gandhi tapping home the game-winner after Xanthe Travlos' goal with four minutes remaining in regulation forced extra time. In 2007, Stanford earned its first conference tournament championship since 2000 with a 3-1 victory over California at the Varsity Turf.

Winning the conference tournament is the first step toward qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. The NorPac Tourney champion is awarded a berth in an NCAA Play-In game, to be contested on the road next week against the champion of the America East Conference. The winner of that game then earns a spot in the 16-team NCAA Tournament field.

Here's a quick glimpse of Thursday's opening round games:

Longwood vs. Pacific - 11 a.m.	Longwood (9-9, 4-2 NorPac) checks in as the No. 2 seed in the East Division. The Lancers have won four of their last six games entering Thursday's matchup. Longwood has no problem with tight games: the Lancers have been involved in eight overtime contests this year, including a stroke-off against Lafayette early in the season. Pacific (4-11, 3-3 NorPac) is the No. 3 seed in the West Division. After starting the year 2-2, Pacific has won just two games since a 2-1 victory over California back on Sept. 12. Pacific has been outscored 52-22 and outshot 274-128, while its opponents hold a 131-66 advantage in penalty corners.
Appalachian State vs. Stanford - 1:30 p.m.	Appalachian State (6-13, 1-5 NorPac) is the No. 4 seed in the East Division. The Mountaineers are currently mired in an eight-game losing skid, not exactly the way you want to charge into the postseason. Appalachian State is 0-8 on the road this year, but 3-1 in neutral site contests. The Mountaineers will be making their first appearance at the Varsity Turf since suffering a 5-1 loss to Stanford in the first round of the 2007 NorPac Tourney. The No. 1 seed in the West Division, Stanford is one victory shy of matching the program record of 14 wins established back in 1997. Stanford owns a 6-0 home record and has won nine in a row at the Varsity Turf dating back to last year.
UC Davis vs. Radford - 4 p.m.	The West Division's No. 4 seed, UC Davis (3-13, 0-6 NorPac) has struggled in its transition year as a Division I program as the Aggies last fielded an intercollegiate field hockey team in 1982. UC Davis boasts a roster consisting mainly of freshmen, transfers from other Division I schools and former club players. However, two of UC Davis' three victories this season came away from home. Radford (9-9, 5-1 NorPac) snagged the No. 1 seed in the East Division. Radford has won three of its last five games entering this week's tourney. The Highlanders are shooting for their first 10-win season since a 10-8 campaign back in 1996. That also happened to be Radford's most recent winning season.
Davidson vs. California - 6:30 p.m.	Davidson (6-11, 2-4 NorPac) is the No. 3 seed of the East Division. The Wildcats have won two of their last five games entering the conference tourney. If it's close at halftime, Davidson has a shot: the Wildcats have outscored their opponents 17-16 over the final 35 minutes and outshot their foes 102-100 in the second half. After completing one of its best seasons in school history, California (6-10, 4-2 NorPac) has struggled in 2009. The Golden Bears, just 1-8 away from Berkeley this year, are the No. 2 seed in the West Division. Despite its losing record, it would be foolish to count out Cal. Traditionally one of the league's strongest programs, this is the first time in 10 years that the Golden Bears have not claimed at least a share of the regular season championship.