Nov. 9, 2010

STANFORD, Calif.- Back in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in school history and second season in a row overall, No. 19 Stanford (15-5, 5-1 NorPac) will play at No. 2 North Carolina when opening round action gets underway this weekend. The Tar Heels are the defending NCAA champion.

The first-round pairing represents a rematch from earlier this season, when the Tar Heels edged the Cardinal 2-1 back on Sept. 26 in Chapel Hill, N.C. In that game, then-No. 1 North Carolina held advantages in shots (16-2) and penalty corners (7-1) but Stanford netminder Alessandra Moss made eight saves to allow the Cardinal to stay within striking distance.

Stanford and North Carolina will square off on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 8:30 a.m. PT. The second game at the site pits No. 7 Michigan against No. 10 Old Dominion at 11 a.m. PT. The winners will play each other on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m.

The No. 2 overall seed in this year's tourney, North Carolina (19-2, 4-1 ACC) is currently ranked second in the national poll but has also held down the top spot for much of the season. Both of the Tar Heels' losses came against Maryland, including a 5-2 setback two days ago in the ACC Tournament title game.

Stanford is 0-9 all-time in NCAA Tournament competition. The Cardinal most recently qualified for the postseason last year, falling 4-0 to Princeton in a first round match after defeating Boston University 3-2 in overtime in an NCAA Play-In game. Stanford also advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1995, 2000 and 2007.

This year's field includes 16 teams (five automatic bids, eight at-large berths and three play-in winners) competing in a single-elimination format. The 2010 NCAA Championship is slated for Nov. 19-21 in College Park, Md., and will be hosted by Maryland.