‘Tis the postseason on the Farm. 

On Friday night, No. 3 seed Stanford women’s soccer (14-4-1, 5-4-1 ACC) returned to action in front of a sold-out crowd at Cagan Stadium, beginning their journey back to the College Cup. Hoping to redeem last year’s national runners-up finish, the Cardinal opened the 43rd NCAA tournament firing on all cylinders, defeating Big West Champions UC Santa Barbara (8-6-9, 4-2-4 Big West) with a commanding 5-0 performance.

“We’re a tournament team, and we’re here to take it to everyone,” said redshirt junior forward Andrea Kitahata.

Entering the game rested after having missed the ACC tournament, Stanford was in full control from the opening whistle. The Cardinal had a season-high 35 shot attempts, first getting on the board from a Gaucho own goal followed by freshman midfielder Charlotte Kohler, freshman defender Lizzie Boamah, junior forward Lumi Kostmayer and Kitahata all adding to Stanford’s tally. The five goals are the most the Cardinal have scored in a game all season, also providing their largest margin of victory. 

But for Stanford, the scoreline is less of a victory lap and more of a statement.

“We knew that a lot of other teams in the tournament had put up a bunch of numbers,” Kitahata said. “We want to show that we’re up there with those ones and two seeds… and that we’re an offense to be afraid of.”

The key for the Cardinal was their depth. Stanford featured 20 players against UCSB, with junior defender Elise Evans being the only outfield player to play the entire ninety minutes. As head coach Paul Ratcliffe described, the bench is “critical” to success in the postseason since, if the Cardinal win their second round matchup, the third round game would come only two days after. 

“In the playoffs, it’s absolutely paramount that you have the depth coming in,” Ratcliffe said. “You have to be ready to make sure there’s plenty of people who can go in and contribute.”

The victory advances Stanford to the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they’ll face either No. 6 seed Rutgers (11-4-5, 6-2-3 Big 10) or UConn (13-4-4, 4-3-3 Big East) next Friday. Since No. 2 Arkansas (15-2-2, 8-1-1 SEC) also advanced from their first round game, the Cardinal’s next two matchups will be hosted in Fayetteville. 

As Stanford prepares for their upcoming challenges, their eyes remain on the greater prize ahead: the College Cup in Cary, N.C. 

“We’re celebrating tonight… but this is really step one on our journey to get to Cary,” Kitahata said. “That’s ultimately the end goal and we’re not satisfied unless we get there.”