No. 3 Stanford will travel to UC-Irvine for the two-day, 16-team SoCal Invitational tournament this weekend. The Cardinal will open up against Princeton at the Anteater Aquatic Complex today at 10:40 am.

Despite a spirited effort, the Cardinal dropped contests against USC last weekend and suffered their first Mountain Pacific (MPSF) conference loss, leaving its conference record at 1-1.

The Cardinal has been hard at work eliminating small mistakes during practice and emphasizing fundamentals. Much of the game plan comes down to the execution and level-headed play that coach John Vargas preaches.

“We need to play smart and limit mistakes; that’s how we win games,” senior goalkeeper Sandy Hohener said. “Then we can be opportunistic and execute when we get scoring opportunities. So [we] play really smart and try not to do what is not in our game plan.”

When asked about the talent level of the team, senior Peter Finlayson felt confident that the squad’s NCAA title hopes were definitely achievable.

“I feel that the talent is definitely there,” Finlayson said. “We’re a relatively young team and a lot of guys, especially sophomores, got a lot of experience added to their skill level. Freshmen are doing a great job playing this year. The team is better, if not better than other years I’ve been [at Stanford].”

The SoCal tournament is usually a good indicator of the level of progress the Cardinal has made by the middle of the season. This will be the first time Stanford faces Princeton this season. The winner will advance to the second bracket, playing the winner of the UC San Diego-UC Irvine contest at 5:20 pm on Saturday.

“We definitely need to stop making small mistakes and focus on playing as a team down the stretch,” sophomore utility Drac Wigo said. “Coach [Vargas] emphasizes teamwork during practice and so we just need to execute.”

All of the nation’s top teams will compete at the SoCal tournament, including Stanford’s biggest rivals: No. 1 USC, No. 2 Cal and No. 3 UCLA. With NCAA Championships approaching on Nov. 25, Stanford must make use of every opportunity it has to compete and gain experience against teams it may face down the road.

“Besides practice, we usually also watch videos to learn more about the opposing teams’ defensive and offensive schemes,” Hohener said. “Coach [Vargas] does a really good job scouting the other team so we’re prepared.”

The Cardinal’s next two games will be against more Southern California competition: Stanford faces both Long Beach State and Occidental College on Oct. 21.