Freshman Xanthe Travlos summed up the mindset of the Stanford field hockey team going into tomorrow’s NCAA Tournament against undefeated No. 1 North Carolina: “We have absolutely nothing to lose.”

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Freshman Xanthe Travlos has notched nine goals and five assists this season. The Cardinal looks to pull the upset this weekend on the road against the undefeated Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C. #gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/8174
Arnav Moudgil

Freshman Xanthe Travlos has notched nine goals and five assists this season. The Cardinal looks to pull the upset this weekend on the road against the undefeated Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Cardinal — in the midst of its best season in years — faces tall odds when it takes the field against the 20-0 Tar Heels in a game played halfway across the country in Chapel Hill, N.C. However, after qualifying for its first NCAA Tournament in seven years when it defeated Lock Haven 1-0 on Tuesday, the team will be playing without the slightest hint of pressure.

“Obviously it is a bit daunting playing against the No. 1 seed in the tournament and a team that’s undefeated on the year,” senior forward Jess Zutz said. “We’re looking to go into the game and put our best effort forth. We’re all really excited for this game. We’re not necessarily going into this game with any doubts, and it’s tournament time, so anything can happen.”

“It’s not an easy challenge by any means,” Travlos added. “We’re on their home turf, [and] they’re the No. 1 ranked team in the country. It’s pretty intimidating, but on the other hand, we’re the underdogs. There’s no pressure on us and in some ways that makes it easier.”

The winner of Saturday’s 8 a.m. match will go on to face the winner of the matchup between Duke and James Madison in the Quarterfinals.

Win or lose, the Cardinal is already thrilled with its season. The team captured a share of the regular season title in the NorPac Conference before taking home the NorPac Tournament crown this past weekend. The team had its first winning season under fifth-year head coach Lesley Irvine, and it seems as if the tide may be turning for a program that has struggled in recent years.

“Regardless of what happens on Saturday, I couldn’t have ever imagined a better way for my career to end,” Zutz, a four-year starter, said. “It’s amazing to be here and I still think I’m in shock about the whole thing.

“It hasn’t really set in that we’re at the NCAAs and that we’re one of 16 teams left in the entire nation that is still playing. Coming into my freshman year, I never expected it to happen. Now that it’s here, its just amazing — it’s a lot fun.”

The team’s future is even brighter, as it loses only two seniors while bringing back 16 underclassmen. As Zutz explained, the team will have a lot more to look forward to coming off of its best season in years.

The program “is only gonna be on the upswing,” she said. “For the freshmen that are here now this is the only thing they know. The bar has been raised.”

“It’s been awesome,” Travlos said. “We’ve had highs; we’ve had lows. I can see that the team has made such leaps and bounds in the past year that there’s no way we can regress from this point. Regardless of what happens on Saturday, we’ve now set the bar for ourselves as a team that’s capable of competing on a national scale — we’ve set the standard.”