After going undefeated in Pac-12 play, No. 5 Stanford women’s soccer (16-2-1, 9-0-1 Pac-12) will open its NCAA tournament on Friday against the San Jose State Spartans (10-7-4, 8-3-0 Mountain West).

Stanford will look to extend the dominance it has exhibited throughout the season against a strong San Jose State team that has been 7-3-2 on the road this season. While the two teams have not met on the pitch this season, the Cardinal will look to expose a Spartans defense that has allowed twice as many goals as the Cardinal’s.

To be successful in this game and in games to come, the Cardinal will once again rely on their strength in all facets of the game, one of which is their concrete defensive core. Led by their centerbacks, junior Maddie Bauer and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Alana Cook, the Cardinal have allowed an average of just 0.58 goals per game on the season.

However, part of the team’s lethality comes from its chemistry.

“I think it starts with our forwards, and from then on, it’s all about organization and communication,” said Bauer about the team’s overall quality of defense. “If everyone is marked on their player and there’s a covering player, I think that’s why our defense is so strong.”

Friday’s matchup will be the Spartans’ first against a team in the top 40 this season. While Stanford cannot afford to take this game lightly, the Spartans will be coming into this game having been seriously untested throughout the season.

Moreover, San Jose State will be coming into Palo Alto after a nerve-wracking victory against San Diego State in which the Spartans edged to victory in a penalty shootout (4-2). Although the victory gave the Spartans the Mountain West title, San Jose State will be feeling the pressure against a much deeper Stanford team that has faced and defeated some of the best in the nation.

The Spartans will have to rely on their offensive prowess, which has made them a force in the Mountain West all season long. Freshman forward Darriell Franklin and sophomore forward Dorthe Hoppius lead the team with 9 and 8 goals, respectively. In all but one of their 10 wins, the Spartans have scored 2 or more goals, a trend the Stanford defense will hope to end.

“Everyone is playing like it’s their last game, and that’s going to be the key,” said head coach Paul Ratcliffe. “You have to play good soccer, but you also have to have that mentality like it’s your last game”.

The match will be played on Friday at 7 p.m. at Cagan Stadium.

Contact Lorenzo Rosas at enzor9 ‘at’ stanford.edu.