The No. 5 Stanford women’s soccer team takes the plunge into NCAA tournament play at home this weekend. The top-seeded Cardinal will play a first-round match against Sacramento State this evening with the winner of the game taking on the winner of the Santa Clara-Cal match at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Stanford (14-2-4) heads into postseason play sporting a seven-game winning streak and a third-place finish in the loaded Pacific-10 Conference. Despite a few ties to lesser opponents in recent weeks — including a scoreless draw with Oregon last weekend — the Cardinal vaulted into the top of the tournament bracket based on a season full of strong victories.

Stanford won five games against teams that finished the season with a top 25 ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, defeating Virginia, Notre Dame, California, Missouri and Connecticut this year. Only two ranked teams, UCLA and USC, tied or beat the Cardinal this season.

Stanford definitely has the pedigree to make a deep run in the tournament. In addition to the squad’s quality wins, the Cardinal returns every contributor from last season’s NCAA run. The team made the Sweet 16 before being eliminated by Clemson on penalty kicks.

Sophomore forward Kelley O’Hara and freshman forward Christen Press come into this year’s tourney as Stanford’s go-to players. O’Hara leads the Cardinal in both scoring categories, with eight goals and five assists, while Press has scored three goals in the last three games, improving her season tallies to six goals and five assists.

Senior goalkeeper Erica Holland will also be looking to erase some bitter memories from last season. Holland allowed only one goal and did not record a loss in three NCAA games last year, but she could not make up for the missed Stanford penalty kicks in the shootout against Clemson.

Sacramento State (12-3-5) ended its regular season on a high note, winning four straight games in the Big Sky Conference tournament to capture the league title and an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. The Hornets have four players with double-digits in points, led by senior forward Katie McCoy, who has racked up 14 goals and seven assists on the season.

Hornets goalkeeper Mandy Trojan has 11 wins and nine shutouts this season, with a .071 goals-against average.

Stanford has not faced Sacramento State on the year, although the Cardinal has seen both potential second-round opponents. Stanford faced off against Santa Clara and Cal on consecutive weekends in October, outshooting Santa Clara 26-5 in a scoreless tie before beating up on the Golden Bears in a 4-2 win.