Rematch Highlights Home Sked

STANFORD, Calif. – An opening weekend rematch against Notre Dame highlights the home schedule for the Stanford women’s lacrosse team, which opens play for the spring season on Feb. 18.

The 2015 schedule, which is still tentative, begins Feb. 18 with a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener against visiting Fresno State. It will be the first chance to see Stanford’s 11-player freshman class in action. Each member of the class hails from a different state, giving rise to the notion of Stanford as collegiate lacrosse’s version of “America’s Team.”

Notre Dame, which reached the second round of the 2014 NCAA tournament, is next, on Friday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m.

Stanford and Notre Dame have developed a strong rivalry. Last year, Lucy Dikeou scored four goals, including the winner with 4:05 left, to give No. 13 Stanford an 11-10 victory over the No. 6 Irish. With piles of snow lining the field on a chilly day, Stanford scored four consecutive goals to erase a 9-6 second-half deficit.

Notre Dame leads the all-time series, 9-6, but Stanford has won the past two, including an 8-7 triumph in the 2013 NCAA tournament on Hannah Farr’s free-position goal with four seconds left in frigid conditions in Evanston, Ill. Except for 2010, the teams have played annually since 2002.

The nonconference road schedule includes ventures to Ohio State, an NCAA tournament team last year, and Vanderbilt, in a rematch of the Commodores’ stunning overtime victory last year.

The MPSF slate begins in earnest on April 3 when the Cardinal returns to Denver, to play the defending conference champion. The Pioneers, who reached the second round of the NCAA tournament, also will play host to the MPSF tournament once again.

Stanford’s home MPSF games will be against Fresno State, Oregon, San Diego State, and USC.

The NCAA final four, should the Cardinal advance that far, will be May 22 and 24 in Philadelphia.

Stanford is coming off a 14-5 season in which it finished second in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, made its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance, and advanced to its 17th consecutive conference tournament final.

Here is Stanford’s unofficial schedule (all times Pacific, unless otherwise noted):

Home: Feb. 18 – Fresno State*, 7 p.m.; Feb. 20 – Notre Dame, 6 p.m.; March 31 – Cornell, 7 p.m.; April 10 – Oregon*, 7 p.m.; April 17 – San Diego State*, 7 p.m.; April 19 – USC*, 1 p.m.

Away: Feb. 28 – Ohio State, TBA; March 8 – Vanderbilt, TBA; March 24 – Penn State, 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET); March 27 – Harvard, TBA; April 3 – Denver*, TBA; April 5 – Colorado*, TBA; April 12 – Saint Mary’s*, TBA; April 22 – UC Davis*, 7 p.m.; April 26 – California*, 1 p.m.