STANFORD, Calif. - No. 13 Stanford will make its 14th NCAA postseason appearance this weekend taking on No. 4 Duke in an NCAA round of 16 matchup Saturday at 11 a.m. PT in Charlottesville, Va.
Stanford head coach Tara Danielson commented on the selection to the NCAA Tournament stating, "We're excited for the opportunity to compete at the highest level possible, while representing Stanford on a national stage. This has been a good lesson for the team that every game matters and that we need to capitalize on any opportunity that arises for us. This has to be a complete team effort in a field where there are no weak opponents."
The Cardinal (13-6) and Blue Devils (12-6) both received at-large bids to the tournament and will square off in the second contest of the day at the Cavaliers’ University Hall Turf Field. Host and No. 3 seed Virginia (14-5) will face Delaware (16-5) in the earlier match at 8:30 a.m. PT. The winners of the two games meet Sunday at 11 a.m. PT with a trip to the NCAA semifinals on the line. The 2015 NCAA semifinals and championship matches are slated for Nov. 20-22 at Michigan’s Ocker Field in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Stanford topped Duke 3-2 in overtime on Aug. 20 at the Varsity Turf.
"We've seen Duke already this season," continued Danielson, "and we know that this game is going to be a hard-fought 70 minutes. There is no one person that will win the game for us, we need the entire team to step up in order to advance against the teams in this tournament. There's so much parity in the sport now that really anyone could win the title. Our real focus is representing Stanford and competing as a team and showcasing the best version of this program as possible."
Other teams selected to host first and second round action include top seed Syracuse, No. 2 seed North Carolina and No. 4 seed Connecticut. All seven ACC teams received bids to the tournament, with Syracuse remaining at home, Wake Forest and North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Duke and Virginia in Charlottesville and Boston College and Louisville heading to Storrs, Conn.
