BYU travels to face No. 1 seed Stanford in NCAA Second Round

BYU vs. Stanford NCAA Second Round Game Notes

PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s soccer travels to host No. 1 seed Stanford for a second round NCAA game on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. PT.

The game can be heard on the Cougar IMG Sports Network and ESPN 960 AM with Greg Wrubell and Colette Smith on the call. There will be a video stream of the game on GoStanford.com.

The Cougars advanced to face Stanford with a 1-0 victory over Utah Valley on Saturday at South Field. Elena Medeiros’ goal in the 21st minute stood up as the Cougars shut out the Wolverines on seven shots. It was Medeiros’ fourth game-winning goal of the season and her first career NCAA tournament goal.

Stanford topped San Jose State 2-0 last Friday as the Cardinal found an own goal and a score by Averie Collins in the first half to put the game away. Goalkeeper Jane Campbell kept a clean sheet for Stanford’s 11th shutout of the season.

The two teams played one another on Labor Day at Stanford after a neutral site game in Hawaii was canceled due to a tropical storm and wet field conditions. The Cougars lost 1-0 after allowing their first goal of the season in the first half. BYU played better in the second half, but wasn’t able to find a goal, despite earning the first corner kicks against Stanford of the season and hitting the crossbar on an Ashley Hatch attempt in the 75th minute.

Since falling to Stanford 1-0 on Labor Day, BYU has gone 13-1-2 while Stanford has gone 13-2-1. The Cougars lost to San Francisco and tied Santa Clara and Cal Poly. The Cardinal fell to Santa Clara and Penn State and tied Cal. Both teams won their regular season conference titles with BYU clinching on the final day, while Stanford won its first 10 games in Pac-12 play to clinch before the final weekend when they drew with Cal.

BYU is 2-1-0 in the NCAA tournament against Stanford, winning first round matches 6-1 and 5-0 in 1998 and 2000. The loss came in the second round in 2009 at Stanford by a 2-0 scoreline. The Cardinal have won 26 consecutive home NCAA matches and have been to the College Cup six of the past seven years.

BYU is back in the second round after falling in the first round last season. BYU hasn’t advanced to the Sweet 16 since 2012 when the Cougars made it to the Elite 8 for the second time in program history.

The winner of Thursday’s game will face the winner of Santa Clara-Arizona which will precede the BYU-Stanford game. The winners will face off on Saturday, Nov. 21 at Noon PT.

Tickets for Thursday are good for both games and can be purchased on Stanford’s website or by calling 1-800-STANFORD. Tickets are going fast with four fan bases purchasing tickets to both games so purchase tickets sooner rather than later.

Quotes

BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood

Preparing for Stanford:

“It’s important for us to do what we’ve been doing. It’s not very often you get a chance to play the same team twice in a season, especially a team as great as Stanford is. We’re preparing like we have for every game. We know we have to believe in ourselves, get the job done and be confident when we get on the field, but more than anything it’s a fantastic opportunity and we’re pretty excited about it.”

Facing Stanford again:

“We learned a lot from that game, things that we had to learn to get better. We learned defensively that we’re a pretty good team, but I think we’ve grown a lot since we’ve played them. 

“Our offense and our attack is quite different than what they saw before, so I’m anxious to see it again. With Ashley (Hatch) getting hurt we’ve had to switch some things. Our attack is as dynamic and as quick as it’s ever been. I think it’s something new to them and something to look forward to. I’m sure Stanford has gotten better as well, but we really feel like we’re a much different and better team than before.”

NCAA tournament:

“You spend the whole season, all the training, all the games, all the travel, to have an opportunity to play in the NCAA. Right now there’s only 32 teams playing so that’s very significant and at the end of the weekend there will only be eight teams left. It’s obviously a huge game for us. The fact that we’re playing Stanford in the second round is what has been given to us and it’s a great opportunity to play one of the most successful women’s soccer programs in the history of soccer. We’ll be ready for them and they’ll be ready for us.”