Having wrapped up its regular season, the Stanford field hockey team must prepare for the North Pacific Athletic Conference Championships. The second-seeded Cardinal (8-9, 5-1 NorPac Conference) received a bye for the first round and will play Friday against the winner of Thursday’s Pacific-Appalachian State showdown.

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Senior midfield Julia Drewes battles to maintain possession against Davidson. The Cardinal have had an up-and-down season, but are looking forward to maintaining their current momentum as they head into the NorPac Athletic Conference Championships, beginning Friday after a first-round bye. #gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/6456
Mike Ramm

Senior midfield Julia Drewes battles to maintain possession against Davidson. The Cardinal have had an up-and-down season, but are looking forward to maintaining their current momentum as they head into the NorPac Athletic Conference Championships, beginning Friday after a first-round bye.

It’s been a volatile season for the Cardinal, characterized by both close losses and easy wins. Seven of Stanford’s nine losses were determined by only one goal, and three of these losses came in overtime. Alternately, in five of the team’s eight wins, the Cardinal outscored their opponent by at least three goals.

Stanford got off to a rocky start, playing top-ranked teams and winning just two of their first eight games. Defending NCAA champions No. 1 University of Maryland, No. 6 American University, No. 16 Cal and No. 2 Wake Forest, who has won three of the past four NCAA championships, all handed Stanford early-season defeats.

The Cardinal’s ninth game, a 2-0 victory over Yale, marked the turning point for the team’s record. Following their win, the team played in its first NorPac Conference game against Pacific, and Stanford freshman forward Rachel Mozenter’s two goals helped the Cardinal walk away with a 2-1 victory.

The Stanford squad went on to win four of its next seven games, with its only losses coming against non-conference opponents. Though the Cardinal fell against No. 10 Virginia in a midseason, non-conference matchup, the 3-2 overtime loss brought head coach Leslie Irvine only pride and encouragement.

“This team is focused on the conference tournament and winning it this year,” Irving said after the Virginia game. “We are proving in games such as tonight that we are more than capable of competing with the best.”

In the team’s last two games, they beat Longwood University, 5-0, and Radford University, 3-0. The Cardinal are aiming to carry the momentum of these two solid wins into the upcoming tournament.

This season has been marked with individual NorPac honors for several players. Junior goalkeeper Madison Bell has been named Defensive Player of the Week four times this season; freshman defender Nora Soza has been named Co-Rookie Player of the Week; and Mozenter has been named Freshman Offensive Player and Rookie Player of the Week.

Just a few days ago it was announced that senior defender Aska Sturdevan will be competing in the 2006 NFHCA Division I Senior All-Star Game, taking place Nov. 18 at Wake Forest University, in Winston-Salem, N.C.. The game features the nation’s top 38 collegiate field-hockey players, and Sturdevan will be only the second player in Stanford’s history to compete. She has been a four-year starter for the Cardinal and is currently ranked fourth on the Stanford team in points, with 14 this season.

Having now finished its regular season, the field hockey team has only the NorPac Championship and the NCAA Tournament ahead. With a solid record behind them, the Cardinal’s second seed now takes them to Davidson, N.C., for Friday’s 4:00 p.m. ET match.