If there’s one thing to be said about the Cardinal’s early success in the 2010 playoffs, it’s that all the big moments have involved the team’s talented youth. In their first two do-or-die contests last weekend, the Pac-10 champions enjoyed game-winning goals from freshman forward Sydney Payne and sophomore defender Alina Garciamendez, who combined for a relatively low nine goals on the entire season. Out of the five total goals scored in those games, none have come from national goals leader Christen Press and two have been from first-time scorers on the collegiate level.

Regardless of where it comes from, the No. 1 Cardinal (20-0-2) will look to continue its winning ways tonight when it hosts UCLA (13-7-2) in the round of 16.

Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe, who recently received his third consecutive Pac-10 coach of the year honor, said he isn’t concerned with the minor shift in goal production.

“I’m not surprised about [our young players],” he said. “I think this is totally normal, and the great thing is that Christen is still playing fantastic soccer. But other people are stepping up and being able to score, and as long as the team keeps winning, it’s not an issue at all. I think it’s great to see the younger players emerging and making a big impact, I think it’s going to be harder for the other teams to match up with us.”

Stanford has made use of its talent on the bench throughout the season, and Ratcliffe says there’s plenty of reason for that to continue even deep into the single-elimination tournament.

“I’m looking at the quality right now of the training sessions, and who’s looking sharp,” he said. “A lot of the younger players are really starting to emerge and impress me, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them getting minutes this weekend and making a huge impact.”

There’s no doubt, though, that the Cardinal’s go-to scorer this season has been Press. With 23 goals and seven assists, she’s averaging more than two points per game. But the senior forward hasn’t found the back of the net in her team’s last three contests–not a particularly long drought, but a notable one given her usual pace of production.

“It’s not discouraging for me,” Press said, “because I hope that even if my role is just to pull defenders away, if I’m able to do that and open up channels for other people, then I can definitely try to consider that productive. But at the same time, there were obviously opportunities where I could’ve scored, so, you know, I’m always trying to get better.”

For her phenomenal regular season, Press was named the Top Drawer player of the year earlier this week. She earned a share of the award last season alongside former teammate Kelley O’Hara, and is the first player to earn the award in consecutive years. The national scoring leader in 2010, Press also broke Stanford records in career goals (68) and points (176) this season, and tied is tied for the mark in assists (40).

In case she needed any, Press may find some added inspiration to continue finding the net when her team faces the Bruins. In a heated match in the national semifinals last season, Press played the hero with a golden goal three minutes and 25 seconds into overtime.

The Bruins were a dominant team in 2009, competing down to the wire for the Pac-10 title and going 21-2-1 before Stanford knocked them out of the national tournament. Though UCLA’s record isn’t quite as impressive this season, they’ve earned notable victories in the NCAAs so far. After sneaking past BYU on penalty kicks, the Bruins earned a 2-1 victory over fourth-seeded UCF to advance to the round of 16.

“I think UCLA is a fantastic team,” Ratcliffe said. “Any team that can get to the Sweet 16 has proven, with this year’s team, I mean, that they’re a really strong opponent. I think it’s going to be a challenging match.”

Stanford faces the Bruins tonight at 7 p.m. at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. The winner will face either Marquette or Florida State next weekend.