Stanford / Maryland Region Women's Soccer Tournament Breakdowns
Not surprisingly, Stanford has a tough road to get to the Elite Eight. The Cardinal are certainly up for the task. It is a tough group with Santa Clara, Denver and fellow seeded team Maryland. Santa Clara will hope to make amends for their 1-6 loss to Stanford on the opening day of the season, but they will have to get past Long Beach State first.
#1 Stanford vs. Idaho State
Stanford’s road starts with Big Sky champion Idaho State. The Bengals have a potent offense led by strikers Rachel Strawn and Amanda Ellsworth, but they will simply be outmatched by the Cardinal defense. Do not look for an epic upset here.
Santa Clara vs. Long Beach State
Long Beach State is a bit of a surprise team to even be in the tournament. They failed to even make the Big West Conference Tournament. However, the 49ers are a dangerous team because of striker Nadia Link. She is superb and always a threat to finish. But LBSU’s young defense will be tested by Santa Clara. Midfielder Julie Johnston is among the best players in the nation and she can dictate tempo and lead the Broncos past Long Beach State.
Denver vs. Colorado College
This game happened before and Colorado College came away with a 1-0 win. The Tigers have to travel to Denver this time and that will be a big difference. Colorado College has a very balanced team with solid players throughout. The Pioneer Women dominated the WAC, until losing to Utah State in the conference tournament final, and will rely on strikers Kristin Hamilton and Kaitlin Bast and experienced senior keeper Lara Campbell.
#4 Maryland vs. Stony Brook
Stony Brook is making their first NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the America East Tournament. This is a team that had a losing record in conference play during the regular season, but did play quite well out of conference. The Seawolves have a quality keeper in junior Ashley Castanio, but she will be tested early and often against Maryland. The Terrapins should expect to get plenty of goals in this one with Becky Kaplan, Haley Brock and Ashley Spivey leading the way.
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