It’s hard to imagine, but there was once a time when Stanford’s women’s soccer team did not play in the NCAA Tournament. In 1997, despite going 10-6-1, the Cardinal failed to make the postseason and was forced to sit on the sidelines while Anson Dorrance and North Carolina won its 14th NCAA title.
Tonight, No. 1 Stanford (19-0-1) will open its playoff run against the University of Montana, a 14th straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the Card that comes on the heels of a third consecutive undefeated regular season.
And it’s getting to be old hat.
“It’s business as usual,” said head coach Paul Ratcliffe. “We’re excited for the challenge, and we want to prove that we’re the best team in the country.”
The Pac-12 champion Cardinal was awarded the No. 1 overall seed for the tournament and will host the Grizzlies (6-11-4), the upset-minded champions of the Big Sky Conference Tournament.
Montana, however, could be in for a rude awakening against Stanford, which has won its last five opening matches and been to the NCAA College Cup semifinals the last three years, losing to North Carolina and Notre Dame in the championship the past two seasons.
While Ratcliffe cautioned against overlooking any opponent, the Grizzlies are the only sub-.500 squad in the 64-team field, having defeated Weber State on penalty kicks in the Big Sky Championship after finishing fourth in conference play. They have scored more than two goals in a game just twice this season and haven’t won a game in regulation since a 1-0 victory over Northern Arizona on October 21.
Even so, Montana is a program on the rise under first-year head coach Mark Plakorus, and the players remained undaunted in interviews. All-Big Sky defender Lauren Costa said she respects Stanford and its vaunted lineup, but is not in the least bit intimidated at being an underdog.
“Stanford is obviously a very good program, and they deserve to be a No. 1 seed,” Costa told The Missoulian on Monday. “But I’m excited to show them what Montana is all about, [to show them] that the Big Sky Conference is a really good conference and to make a name for ourselves.”
Ratcliffe agreed that no one can feel safe when one loss sends a team home for good, no matter what seed it is.
“Once you get to the playoffs everyone has a target on them,” he told GoStanford.com. “Everyone feels the pressure in the playoffs. It’s how you perform on the day, and how competitive you are on the day. ”
But Stanford definitely has a serious edge heading into the game on paper. Apart from junior forward Erin Craig, who leads the Grizzlies with 10 goals, and sophomore India Watne, Montana has little offensive firepower, which will make it tough to score against a Cardinal defense that has allowed just eight goals all season.
And the senior quartet of Camille Levin, Teresa Noyola, Lindsay Taylor and Kristy Zurmuhlen has never lost at home, going 89-4-4 in four years and winning more games than any other senior class in the nation. With 17 goals, Taylor, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, has scored more than half of the Grizz’s season total (27) on her own.
But there is little history between the two programs — Stanford beat Montana 8-1 in the only head-to-head meeting between the two back in 2002 — and the postseason is often where luck and momentum make a big difference.
Stanford will take the field tonight looking for its 47th consecutive victory at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium against the Grizz. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.