No. 14 Stanford women’s soccer team (12-4-1, 5-4-1 ACC) will enter the 43rd Division I NCAA women’s tournament as the No. 3 seed. 

The field of 64 was set Monday at the NCAA Selection Show, and Stanford will host the first-round matchup against UC Santa Barbara (8-5-9) at home on Friday. The winner will take on either No. 6 seed Rutgers or UConn in the next round.

Stanford has appeared in 11 College Cups and has appeared in 26 of the past 27 NCAA tournaments, with three national championships in 2011, 2017 and 2019. Last year, Stanford was the national runner-up. 

The Cardinal has a perfect 21-0-0 record in first-round tournament matches at home and is 56-4-5 all-time in postseason games hosted on The Farm, winning the past 16 games. The Cardinal is 44-1-2 over the last 47 postseason home games dating back to 2008.

Stanford looks to bounce back from a Senior Night upset loss to Cal on Halloween, when the game ended in a last-minute penalty for a 3-2 final score. The Cardinal’s four conference losses, including its final loss to Cal, meant that they did not qualify for the ACC tournament. 

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are coming off a Big West conference championship over Cal State Bakersfield, winning in an 8-7 penalty shootout. The team has not played in the NCAA tournament since 2009. 

Stanford’s offensive team stats are led by senior Andrea Kitahata, freshman Charlotte Kohler and sophomore Shae Harvey in season goals and assists with 19, nine and eight total points respectively. Senior goalkeeper Haley Craig, who is starting for the first time this season, has a 75.8% save rate.

Big West Freshman of the Year Devin Greer is UCSB’s offensive weapon, dominating team stats with 24 points including 10 goals and four assists. Greer’s multiple game-winning goals throughout the Big West tournament ultimately advanced the Gauchos to the NCAA tournament. 

The Cardinal will take on the Gauchos at Cagan Stadium on Friday at 6 p.m.