No. 1 Stanford Opens 2026 Season at Cal Poly

MATCH NOTABLES

Stanford has outscored Cal Poly 36-4 over the 13 matches played and has managed nine shutout victories ... the Cardinal opened the 2021 season at Cal Poly and posted a 2-0 victory ... Stanford is 3-0 in matches played at Cal Poly, and is outscoring the Mustangs 5-1 ... the Cardinal is 8-0 at home against Cal Poly and has outscored the Mustangs 26-3 in those matches ... the two teams have met four times in the NCAA Tournament, including the first round last year when Stanford answered a first-minute goal with three unanswered to post a 3-1 victory

QUICK PASSES

• Stanford enters the season ranked No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 2 according to TopDrawerSoccer and carries the Preseason No. 1 tag for the first time since 2018 ... is the only program to have reached the College Cup in each of the past three seasons ... has now made three consecutive trips for the fifth time in program history, and the first since 2017-19 ... has been ranked in each of the last 47 United Soccer Coaches polls dating back to October 4, 2022 ... has recorded at least 15 wins in each of the last 19 seasons in which it has played 15 matches (played just 12 matches during the 2020-21 season) and has reached 20 wins in 11 of those seasons ... is the winningest program in California since 2010, compiling 303 victories
• The 7-0 victory over San Francisco to start last season marked the fifth consecutive campaign that Stanford opened the year with a shutout (2-0 at Cal Poly in 2021, 5-0 vs. Sacramento State in 2022, 4-0 at San Diego in 2023 and 1-0 at San Francisco in 2024)
• Including the 7-0 victory over San Francisco last season, Stanford owns a 19-match unbeaten streak in season openers (18-0-1) dating back to 2007 ... Stanford has posted 11 shutouts over the 19-match streak ... the Cardinal has won 15 straight season openers after playing to a 1-1 draw at Boston College to start the 2010 season
• The Cardinal is 67-8-10 over its last 85 matches and had a 17-match unbeaten streak snapped with its loss in the 2025 national championship (was 15-0-2)
• Stanford has won two of the last nine College Cups - most recently capturing the title in 2019 ... made its 13th appearance in the College Cup last year, including its third in as many years ... also made its seventh appearance in the College Cup final and second in the last three seasons ... is 3-4 in national championship matches … 12 of Stanford’s 13 College Cup appearances have come since 2008
• Stanford finished the 2025 season as the national runner up for the second time in three seasons after dropping the championship match to Florida State
• The Cardinal won the 2025 ACC regular-season and tournament championships  for the first time in program history
• Stanford's 2-0 victory over Boston College on September 25 was No. 400 on The Farm for Paul Ratcliffe, who now carries a 413-74-43 (.820) record at Stanford
• The Cardinal scored at least three goals in 17 of the 25 matches last year, reached the five-goal plateau 11 times, and scored at least six goals six times ... averaged a national-best 22.80 shots per game last year, having posted at least 20 in 16 of the 25 matches, and led the nation in scoring offense (3.84 goals per game), assists per game (3.76), goal differential (+72), points per game (11.44), total assists (94), total goals (96) and total points (286)
• Stanford conceded just 24 goals last season, posted nine shutouts, and has managed a clean sheet in 41 of its last 81 contests overall … has outscored the opposition 64-17 over its last 17 matches
• The Cardinal owns a 134-7-10 record at Cagan Stadium since the start of the 2014 season, but had an unbeaten streak of 34 straight home matches (32-0-2) snapped on October 10, 2024 vs. No. 1 Duke ... finished 14-0-0 at home last season and outscored its opponents 64-9 in those matches … including last year, Stanford has managed unbeaten home slates in seven of the last 12 seasons
• Mia Bhuta started the first 48 of a possible 49 matches in her career and has started 58 of her 62 career matches played
• Caroline Birkel has been named TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI second team, Preseason All-ACC and is listed on the United Soccer Coaches Goalkeeper to Watch list ... was named United Soccer Coaches All-Region third team, ACC Goalkeeper of the Year, TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI first team, All-ACC first team and All-ACC Freshman team last year ... started every match in goal last year as a freshman, logging 1,953 minutes with 47 saves and three shutouts while combining on six more clean sheets ... averaged .92 goals against and a .701 save percentage a year ago ... was the first Stanford true freshman to start in goal since Jane Campbell started 18 matches in 2013
• Lily Freer was named TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI first team last year ... played the second-most minutes among Cardinal field players a year ago, including full time in 12 matches
• Brooke Holden entered as a substitute in the 60th minute vs. San Francisco last year and went on to score a brace, notching goals in the 82nd and 87th minutes ... became the first Cardinal since at least 2000 to record a brace in her collegiate debut ... scored six goals and added one assist for 13 points a year ago
• Eleanor Klinger scored in two of her final four matches last year and had three goals over those four contests ... scored eight goals and added eight assists for 24 points a year ago
• Charlotte Kohler has been named TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI first team, Preseason All-ACC and is listed on the United Soccer Coaches Midfielders to Watch list ... was named United Soccer Coaches All-America third team, TopDrawerSoccer Best XI third team, All-ACC second team and ACC All-Tournament  a year ago ... scored in two of her last four matches and five of her last nine overall last season ... managed at least a point in 19 of the 25 matches last season and contributed five game-winners - including the game-winner to defeat No. 1 Virginia and No. 7 Florida State ... had a string of 13 straight matches with a point snapped vs. No. 11 Duke in the 2025 College Cup semifinal (totaled 30 points over the span) ... converted the clinching PK in Stanford's 5-4 shootout victory over No. 2 Notre Dame to win the ACC Tournament title on November 9, 2025 ... led the nation with 17 assists a year ago – the second-most in a single season in Stanford history and averaged .68 assists per match to rank third nationally ... ranked third on the team in points with 41 (12 goals and 17 assists) last season
• Y-Lan Nguyen has been named TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI first team and is listed on the United Soccer Coaches Midfielders to Watch list ... was named TopDrawerSoccer National Freshman of the Year, TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI first team, All-ACC Freshman team and Women's College Cup All-Tournament team a year ago ... started 15 matches while appearing in all 25 as a freshman, totaling two goals and two assists for six points while logging 1,668 minutes
• Alex Tay suited up with Ghana at the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations earlier this month ... Ghana secured one of Africa's two places in the inter-confederation play-offs for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup after coming from behind to defeat Ivory Coast 2-1 in Casablanca on August 13 ... the win sent the Black Queens through to the 10-team inter-confederation play-offs, which will take place across two international breaks between November and February, with the three mini-tournament winners securing their places in next year's World Cup in Brazil
• Bella Winn is listed on the United Soccer Coaches Forwards to Watch list ... transferred into the program after two seasons at UCLA where she was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year (2025), United Soccer Coaches All-Region third team (2025), All-Big Ten second team (2025) and Big Ten All-Freshman Team (2025) ... UCLA’s leading scorer with eight goals and 18 points a year ago, including five game-winning goals to rank second in the Big Ten

NOW AND LATER

• No. 1 Stanford will begin the 2026 season with a road match at Cal Poly on Sunday
• Kickoff between the Cardinal and the Mustangs is set for 1 p.m. and Ryan Giacomini will have the broadcast call on ESPN+
• Following the clash with Cal Poly, Stanford will return to The Farm to host Georgetown on Thursday, August 20 at 4 p.m.
• The match against the Hoyas will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS

• Thursday's home opener against Georgetown features a 2026 women's soccer poster giveaway, so cheer on the Cardinal and help us pack Cagan Stadium
• Make Thursday, August 27, vs. UCLA your game plan, and stick around after the game to pick up a free mini soccer ball on your way out, while supplies last
• Join us Sunday, August 30, for Camper Reunion as we take on Cal State Fullerton, and stay after the match for a postgame autograph session with the team

GETTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT

• With a 7-0 shutout victory over San Francisco to start the 2025 season, Stanford now owns a 19-match unbeaten streak in season openers (18-0-1) dating back to 2007 ... Stanford has posted 11 shutouts over the 19-match streak
• The Cardinal has won 15 straight season openers ... played to a 1-1 draw at Boston College to start the 2010 season
• Stanford last dropped a season opener in 2006 - a 2-1 defeat at Utah
• Stanford is 36-4-2 all time in season openers - including 20-2-1 under Paul Ratcliffe

HOME SWEET HOME

• Stanford owns a 134-7-10 record at Cagan Stadium since the start of the 2014 season
• Stanford's 1-1 draw with Washington on October 14, 2023 ended a string of 21 straight wins at home – a stretch that dated back to October 3, 2021 … the Cardinal would extend it's unbeaten streak to 34 straight matches (32-0-2) before No. 1 Duke snapped the string with a 4-1 victory on October 10, 2024
• The Cardinal finished 14-0-0 at home last season and outscored its opponents 64-9 in those matches
• Including last year, Stanford has managed unbeaten home slates in seven of the last 12 seasons
• Including a 7-0 victory over San Francisco to start the 2025 season, Stanford is unbeaten in its last 37 home openers (36-0-1) dating back to 1989 ... lone tie came vs. Portland in 2013
• The Cardinal is outscoring opponents 130-14 with 26 shutouts over those 37 home openers
• Stanford owns a 37-4-1 record overall in home openers in program history (since 1984)
• Stanford had a 43-match unbeaten streak at home snapped during the 2020-21 season with a 1-0 loss to Cal on March 20 ... went 42-0-1 over the span, which began at the beginning of the 2017 season ... played to a 1-1 draw vs. then-No. 7 Santa Clara on September 16, 2018 for the only tie over the 43-match string

CARDINAL IN THE TOP 10

• Stanford opened the 2026 season at No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches poll after finishing 2025 as the national runner-up ... is ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll for the first time since 2018
• The Cardinal opened the 2025 season at No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, reached as high as No. 1, and was ranked in the Top 10 throughout the year
• Including the final poll, the Cardinal was ranked in the top three in each of the last 13 polls in 2025
• The top ranking last year was the first for Stanford since finishing the 2019 season as the national champion
• The ACC held the No. 1 ranking in all but one week last year ... North Carolina, Duke, Stanford, Virginia, Notre Dame and Florida State all occupied the top spot
• In the last 36 weeks of the United Soccer Coaches Poll, dating back to 2023, an ACC team has been ranked No. 1 in all but three polls

CARDINAL TABBED SECOND IN STACKED ACC

• Coming off a 2025 season in which it won its first ACC regular-season and tournament titles, Stanford was picked to finish second this year by the league’s coaches
• Stanford secured three first-place votes and totaled 233 points, just six points behind ACC favorite Notre Dame with seven first-place votes and 239 overall points ... Duke, which collected three first-place votes, was third with 224 points, followed by defending national champion Florida State (three first-place votes, 213 points) and North Carolina (one first-place vote, 207 points) to round out the top five
• The United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll included No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Duke, No. 4 Florida State, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 11 Virginia, No. 18 Wake Forest and No. 25 Clemson, while Louisville entered the year receiving votes

PAIR ON PRESEASON ALL-ACC SQUAD

• In addition to the preseason poll, the ACC coaches also selected a Preseason All-ACC team, with sophomore Caroline Birkel and junior Charlotte Kohler earning spots on the squad
• Birkel is the reigning ACC Goalkeeper of the Year and was named United Soccer Coaches All-Region third team as a freshman
• Kohler earned United Soccer Coaches All-America third team and All-Region second team honors a year ago

TOP PLAYERS PLAY ON THE FARM

• Stanford boasted six players on TopDrawerSoccer's Preseason Top 100 Players list and three on the Preseason Best XI teams
• Midfielders Charlotte Kohler and Y-Lan Nguyen both landed on the Preseason Best XI first team, while goalkeeper Caroline Birkel was selected Best XI second team
• Nguyen led the pack of six Cardinal in the Top 100, claiming the No. 6 overall spot ... Kohler (No. 8), Birkel (No. 20), Bella Winn (No. 34), Eleanor Klinger (No. 44) and Sammy Smith (No. 86) were also featured on the list
• The Cardinal’s six players in the Top 100 were tied for the most of any program in the nation, while Stanford is the only program to have two players in the top 10

SUCCESS UNDER RATCLIFFE

• This fall marks the 24th season under the direction of Knowles Family Director of Women's Soccer Paul Ratcliffe
• Ratcliffe is Stanford's all-time winningest soccer coach with a 413-74-43 record in his tenure on The Farm
• Ratcliffe has guided Stanford to three national championships, seven NCAA finals, 11 conference titles, 12 College Cup appearances, a berth in the NCAA third round in 16 of the past 20 seasons, and a spot in the NCAA Tournament in 22 of his 23 seasons

AYE AYE, CAPTAINS!

• Stanford named a pair of players team captains ahead of the 2026 season - senior Mia Bhuta and junior Charlotte Kohler
• Bhuta was previously voted a team captain a year ago, while Kohler is a first-year captain on The Farm

RELOADING FOR 2026

• Continuing to maintain one of the premier women’s soccer programs in the nation, The Knowles Family Director of Women's Soccer Paul Ratcliffe added the No. 2 overall recruiting class for the 2026 season according to TopDrawerSoccer
• The high-profile signing class included freshmen Kennedy Kelly, Ella Kral, Sadie Leal-Schuman, Peyton Marinos, Ale Munneke, Aniya Williams and London Young, and transfers Bella Winn (UCLA) and Rhiannon Stewart (Harvard)
• Williams and Young joined the Cardinal as early-enrollees for the winter quarter in 2026 and began training with the Cardinal during the spring

GATORADE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

• Three current Stanford players were named their respective state Gatorade Players of the Year at the conclusion of their high school careers
• Charlotte Kohler (California), Sammy Smith (Idaho) and Jaden Thomas (Texas) each earned the selections for the 2023-24 school year
• Kohler and Smith are both two-time Gatorade Players of the Year after being lauded as juniors following the 2022-23 season

A LOOK BACK AT 2025

• Returning to the College Cup for the third consecutive season, Stanford finished the 2025 campaign with a 21-2-2 overall record and a 9-0-1 record in its second Atlantic Coast Conference season
• The Cardinal made its 34th NCAA Tournament appearance overall in 2025, including its 27th in the last 28 seasons
• The Cardinal reached the College Cup final for the second time in the last three years, dropping the national championship to Florida State
• Stanford captured the 2025 ACC regular-season and tournament titles and entered the postseason ranked No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawerSoccer polls
• Prior to being named No. 1 in the final United Soccer Coaches poll of the regular season, held the top ranking for two weeks earlier in the season (August 25 and September 1)
• The Cardinal scored at least three goals in 17 of the 25 matches, reached the five-goal plateau 11 times, and scored at least six goals six times
• The Cardinal's 96 combined goals was the second-most in Stanford history for a single season (102 in 2019)
• Stanford averaged a national-best 22.80 shots per game, having posted at least 20 in 16 of the 25 matches, and led the nation in scoring offense (3.84 goals per game), assists per game (3.76), goal differential (+72), points per game (11.44), total assists (94), total goals (96) and total points (286)
• Stanford conceded just 24 goals and posted nine shutouts
• Jasmine Aikey was selected the MAC Hermann Trophy winner and TopDrawerSoccer Player of the Year ... was named United Soccer Coaches All-America first team, TopDrawerSoccer Best XI first team, All-ACC first team, ACC Championship MVP, ACC All-Tournament, Women's College Cup All-Tournament team, and a finalist for the Honda Sport Award for Soccer ... College Sports Communicators Academic All-America first team and was named Academic All-America Team Member of the Year - becoming just the second player in history to win the Hermann Trophy and Team Member of the Year in the same season (Christine Sinclair, Portland, 2005) ... eventually named College Sports Communicators Overall Academic All-American of the Year - just the third Stanford student-athlete to win the overall honor, joining football’s Tommy Vardell (1991-92) and women’s swimming’s Katie Ledecky (2017-18)
• Caroline Birkel was named United Soccer Coaches All-Region third team, ACC Goalkeeper of the Year, TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI first team, All-ACC first team and All-ACC Freshman team
• Elise Evans was a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy and was named United Soccer Coaches All-America first team, ACC Defensive Player of the Year, TopDrawerSoccer Best XI first team, All-ACC first team and ACC All-Tournament, and was tabbed United Soccer Coaches National Scholar Player of the Year
• Lily Freer was named TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI first team
• Shae Harvey was named All-ACC second team and Women's College Cup All-Tournament team
• Andrea Kitahata was named United Soccer Coaches All-Region second team, TopDrawerSoccer Best XI second team, All-ACC first team and ACC All-Tournament
• Charlotte Kohler was named United Soccer Coaches All-America third team, TopDrawerSoccer Best XI third team, All-ACC second team and ACC All-Tournament
• Y-Lan Nguyen was named TopDrawerSoccer National Freshman of the Year, TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI first team, All-ACC Freshman team and Women's College Cup All-Tournament team

NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES

• The Cardinal has made 34 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 27 in the last 28 seasons ... has made seven appearances in the College Cup final, including four in the last nine seasons - 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2025 ... Stanford is 3-4 in national championship matches ... Stanford has won two of the last nine College Cups - most recently capturing the title in 2019
• Stanford has appeared in 13 College Cups, including five straight from 2008-12, with its three national championships coming in 2011, 2017 and 2019 ... 12 of the 13 College Cup appearances have come since 2008
• In addition to the three national titles, Stanford has also been the national runner-up four times (2009, 2010, 2023, 2025)
• The Cardinal has compiled a 78-26-9 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play
• Stanford has reached the second round in 27 of the 34 appearances, has earned a berth in the NCAA third round in 16 of the past 20 seasons, has reached the NCAA quarterfinal round in three consecutive years and 13 times since 2008, and has advanced to the College Cup in three straight seasons and 12 times in the last 18 campaigns ... is 13-for-18 all-time advancing to the College Cup from the round of eight
• Stanford has opened the NCAA Tournament at home 24 times in program history ... hosted the first round in 13 straight seasons from 2007-19 ... is a perfect 23-0-0 in first-round matches played at home (received a first-round bye in 1999)
• Stanford is 62-4-5 all-time in postseason games hosted on The Farm, and has won 22 straight (last loss: 1-0 (2OT) vs. Santa Clara on November 18, 2016) ... is 50-1-2 over the last 53 postseason home games dating back to 2008
• The Knowles Family Director of Women's Soccer Paul Ratcliffe owns a 67-16-6 record in postseason action while at Stanford, having guided the Cardinal to 12 College Cup appearances, seven College Cup finals, and the NCAA Tournament in 22 of his 23 seasons
• Stanford earned the No. 1 overall seed in four straight tournaments from 2016-19
• In a season in which Stanford set a program record with 102 goals, it was the Cardinal's grit, determination and mental toughness that ultimately secured the program's third national championship on Dec. 8, 2019 at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif. ... after 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, top-seeded Stanford defeated No. 2 North Carolina 5-4 in a penalty kick shootout with Kiki Pickett scoring the deciding penalty kick and Katie Meyer making a pair of saves in the shootout
• Stanford captured its second national championship on Dec. 3, 2017 with a 3-2 win over UCLA ... Kyra Carusa and Andi Sullivan opened the scoring for the Cardinal and, after the Bruins fought back with two goals to tie the match at 2-2, Jaye Boissiere’s stunning left-footed strike in the 67th minute put Stanford on top for good
• After qualifying for the College Cup for the fourth-straight season, Stanford broke through in 2011 with its first national championship in program history ... Teresa Noyola’s header in the 53rd minute was the only goal of the match as goalkeeper Emily Oliver and the Cardinal shut down the Blue Devils for 90 minutes

SMITH ACHIEVES WINTER OLYMPIC DREAMS

• Less than two months after starting at defender in the 2025 College Cup final for the Stanford women’s soccer team, sophomore Sammy Smith achieved her lifelong goal of making an Olympic team
• Smith earned a spot as a member of the U.S. Olympic Cross Country Ski Team ahead of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games, which got underway February 6, and participated in the women's sprint classic
• Stanford has long been regarded as the preeminent training ground for national team competition ... in Summer Olympics competition, affiliates have captured 335 overall medals from 196 medalists, including a school-record 39 medals at the 2024 Paris Games, representing the most student-athlete medals won in an Olympics by any school ... for the third consecutive edition of the Summer Games, Stanford also totaled the most Team USA selections (37) and Team USA medals (36)
• However, this one just felt a bit different ... Smith’s selection to the national team is extremely rare, if not, unprecedented: a current varsity student-athlete competing for the national team of a different sport within the same academic calendar year ... a native of Boise, Idaho, Smith is believed to be Stanford’s first American varsity student-athlete to also participate in a Winter Olympics since Bonny Warner, a member of the Cardinal’s field hockey team from 1982-84 who competed for Team USA’s luge squad in 1984, 1988 and 1992 ... Stanford’s most recent Team USA Winter Olympian was Rachael Flatt, a figure skater who competed in the 2010 Games and graduated in 2015
• Following a sophomore campaign in which she appeared in every match for the Cardinal, including starting 14 at defender, Smith quickly shifted her attention to the slopes and traveled to Lake Placid, New York, for the U.S. Cross Country Championships from Jan. 4-9 ... just 27 days removed from the national title match, Smith won both the skate sprint and classic sprint to make her case for inclusion on the Olympic team
• Needing another strong performance to solidify her standing, Smith traveled to the 2026 FIS Cross Country Skiing World Cup in Oberhof, Germany, from Jan. 17-18 ... in a potential preview of Olympic competition to come, Smith sprinted to a career-best 12th-place finish and was the top American in the field
• All that was left to do was await the announcement of the 97-member U.S. Ski & Snowboard Olympic Team ... that announcement came early on the morning of Jan. 22 as Team USA nominated its athletes for the Olympic Games
• The Milano Cortina Games took place across Italy, becoming the most geographically widespread Games in history ... athletes competed across 25 venues in four main clusters: Milan, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Valtellina and Val di Fiemme, with 116 medal events on the schedule ... for ski and snowboard events, Bormio hosted men’s alpine, Cortina hosted women’s alpine, cross country, ski jumping and nordic combined took place in Val di Fiemme and freestyle, freeski and snowboard in Livigno

RILEY CLAIMS HER HALL OF FAME SPOT

• A four-time Olympian and five-time World Cup participant while captaining New Zealand, Ali Riley will be inducted into the Stanford Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2026 on Friday, September 25
• Joining Riley as members of the class are Inky Ajanaku (women’s volleyball), Kevin Hogan (football), Kristian Ipsen (men’s swimming and diving), Onnie Killefer (field hockey), Owen Marecic (football), Ali Riley (women’s soccer), Erika Roddy (women’s rowing), Laura Shane (lacrosse), Erik Shoji (men’s volleyball) and Kawika Shoji (men’s volleyball)
• Riley will be the 10th inductee from women's soccer and the first since Kelley O'Hara in 2025
• Riley led the Cardinal to four NCAA appearances (2006-09), back-to-back NCAA College Cups (2008-09) and a national runner-up finish (2009) ... Top Drawer Soccer First-Team All-American (2009), NSCAA Third-Team All-American (2009) ... member of Pac-10 title squad (2009), fueling the Cardinal to its first conference championship in seven seasons ... two-time All-Pac-10 selection (first team in 2009, second team in 2007) ... Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2009), 3-time Pac-10 All-Academic selection (2007-09) ... four-time Olympian (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020), representing New Zealand ... five-time World Cup participant (2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023), representing New Zealand ... retired in September 2025 following a decorated professional career, including winning WPS championships with FC Gold Pride (2010) and Western New York Flash (2011) while recognized as a 5-time New Zealand Player of the Year

REPRESENTING THE SENIOR NATIONAL TEAM

• Fourteen former Cardinal are active and have regularly suited up with their respective Senior National Teams in recent years
• The United States Women's National Team regularly features nine former Cardinal - Jane Campbell, Alana Cook, Tierna Davidson, Naomi Girma, Lo'eau LaBonta, Catarina Macario, Andi Sullivan, Kennedy Wesley and Sophia Wilson
• Amy Sayer plays for Team Australia, Kyra Carusa represents Ireland, Alex Tay suits up for Ghana, and Madison Ayson and Nya Harrison play for the Philippines
• Girma was voted 2023 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year - the second Cardinal honored in as many seasons after Sophia Smith was selected in 2022
• Three icons of the game recently retired after lengthy national team stints, including Kelly O'Hara and Christen Press for USA, and long-time New Zealand captain, Ali Riley

CARDINAL ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

• Tierna Davidson, Naomi Girma and Sophia Smith won gold playing with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics
• While 2024 marked the first Olympic gold for the trio, the Olympic medal was the second of Davidson’s career after helping the U.S. to a bronze at the Tokyo Games in 2020
• Jane Campbell, an alternate with Team USA in 2024, also earned bronze playing alongside Davidson in Tokyo
• Catarina Macario (United States) and Ali Riley (New Zealand) were also selected for the Games, but withdrew due to injury
• Riley was set to play in her fifth Olympic Games with New Zealand, while Macario previously joined Davidson and Campbell in winning bronze in Tokyo
• One of the top defenders in the world, Girma played every minute of the Olympics for the United States at center back, helping the U.S. post four clean sheets in the six matches
• Proving herself a weapon on the attack for the United States, Smith scored three goals and added two assists ... she was directly involved in a goal in four of the USA’s six matches at the 2024 Olympics
• Davidson missed the group stage final and the quarterfinal match in Olympic play, but returned to the starting lineup and the U.S. backline for the semifinal and gold-medal matches – a pair of 1-0 victories over Germany and Brazil
• With three more added to the list, Stanford women’s soccer has now had seven former players win gold with the U.S. in Olympic competition – compiling 10 gold medals in total
• Julie Foudy, who was on the broadcast call for the final against Brazil, was the first to capture gold, doing so in 1996 and then again in 2004 ... Nicole Barnhart and Rachel Buehler teamed for gold in 2008 before being joined by Kelley O’Hara on the 2012 gold-medal squad
• Prior to guiding the United States to the top of the podium, Davidson, Girma and Smith led Stanford to national championships while on The Farm ... furthermore, each player ultimately became the No. 1 overall pick in their respective NWSL draft classes ... Davidson was a member of the 2017 national champions before being selected No. 1 overall in the 2019 NWSL draft ... Smith and Girma were both sophomores on the 2019 national championship squad before going No. 1 overall in 2020 and 2022, respectively
• In addition to the 2024 Paris Games, seven former Cardinal represented their countries in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
• The Farm produced five players for Team USA, including Alana Cook, Girma, Kelley O'Hara, Smith and Andi Sullivan ... all but O'Hara (fourth World Cup) were making their inaugural appearance in the World Cup
• Kyra Carusa made her World Cup debut with Ireland, while Riley captained New Zealand - earning the country's first World Cup victory ... for Riley, the 2023 World Cup was her fifth with The Ford Football Ferns
• Stanford's five U.S. World Cup members were the most of any program in the nation, followed by North Carolina and Santa Clara with two

HOME OF CHAMPIONS

• Stanford is the all-time leader with 139 NCAA team championships (71 men, 68 women), and 178 national championships overall
• The Cardinal owns the most recognizable streak in college athletics, having won at least one NCAA team title during each of the last 50 seasons, dating back to the 1976-77 campaign
• During the 2025-26 season, artistic swimming, men's gymnastics, sailing and women's golf won national titles, with the gymnastics title stretching the NCAA team title streak to 50 years
• Stanford has won the Learfield Directors’ Cup in 26 of the possible 32 seasons, including a 25-year streak from 1995-2019

#OLYMPIANSMADEHERE

• Less than two months after starting at defender in the 2025 College Cup final for the Stanford women’s soccer team, sophomore Sammy Smith has achieved her lifelong goal of making an Olympic team ... Smith earned a spot as a member of the U.S. Olympic Cross Country Ski Team ahead of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games, which got underway February 6 ... Smith’s selection to the national team is extremely rare, if not, unprecedented: a current Division I varsity student-athlete competing for the national team of a different sport within the same academic calendar year ... a native of Boise, Idaho, Smith is believed to be Stanford’s first American varsity student-athlete to also participate in a Winter Olympics since Bonny Warner, a member of the Cardinal’s field hockey team from 1982-84 who competed for Team USA’s luge squad in 1984, 1988 and 1992 ... Stanford’s most recent Team USA Winter Olympian was Rachael Flatt, a figure skater who competed in the 2010 Games and graduated in 2015
• Stanford concluded the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with a school-record 39 medals, shattering its previous best while cementing its reputation on the world’s biggest stage as the nation’s top collegiate program
• The 39 medals were 12 more than the previous record of 27 at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games
• Stanford’s haul of 39 medals (12 gold, 14 silver, 13 bronze) was the most by any school at one Olympics
• Cardinal student-athletes medaled in 13 of Stanford's 36 varsity sports: artistic swimming, women’s basketball, women’s fencing, men’s gymnastics, sailing, men’s rowing, women’s soccer, women’s swimming and diving, men’s track and field, men’s volleyball, women’s volleyball, men’s water polo, women’s water polo
• The Cardinal boasted 19 first-time medalists - a total that ranks second in school history behind the 21 at the 2008 Beijing Games
• If Stanford was a country in the 2024 Games, it would have finished tied with Canada for 11th place
• Boasting a school-record 59 Olympians with Cardinal ties, Stanford won at least 20 medals for the sixth time in school history (2020, 2016, 2008, 1996, 1924)
• The Cardinal’s 59 Olympians (20 male, 39 female) represented 14 countries across 20 varsity sports
• In addition to the 59 qualifiers, Stanford’s Olympic representation also included five alternates, one national team head coach and three national team assistant coaches
• For the third straight Olympics, Stanford totaled more Team USA selections (37) than any other school, reinforcing its status as the preeminent training ground for U.S. national team competition
• Stanford has won 128 medals combined over the last five Summer Games
• All told, Stanford’s affiliates have captured 335 overall medals (162 gold, 93 silver, 80 bronze) from 196 medalists, and the Cardinal has produced at least one medalist in every Olympics in which the U.S. has competed since 1912

COACHING GIFT HONORS MACARIO

• The women's soccer program received a generous gift from an anonymous donor in 2023 with the creation of an endowed assistant coaching position that honors all-time great Catarina Macario - Stanford's first two-time MAC Hermann Trophy winner
• Paul Hart currently holds the title of Catarina Macario Assistant Women's Soccer Coach after the departure of Melissa Charloe following the 2023 season
• Macario helped guide the Cardinal to three College Cup appearances and national titles in 2017 and 2019 ... in 2019, she became just the fifth player in NCAA history to win the MAC Hermann Trophy in consecutive seasons after leading the nation in goals (32), assists (23), and points (87); all three totals set single-season program records en route to Stanford's third national title ... she was also a three-time ESPNW Player of the Year, three-time All-America first team selection, and the 2019 Honda Sport Award winner for soccer, which is presented annually to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and signifies "the best of the best in collegiate athletics."
• Macario's storied three-year career on the Farm saw her score 63 goals while assisting on a program-record 47 more to finish with 173 points ... her goals and points totals trail only Stanford Hall of Famer Christen Press in the history of the program
• Following her Stanford playing career, Macario signed a professional contract with Lyon, playing a crucial role in helping the French outfit to the 2021-22 French title and UEFA Women's Champions League, scoring 23 goals in 33 games and becoming the first American to score in a Women's Champions League final ... Macario made the switch to Chelsea in July 2023, inking a three-year deal with the historic English club of the FA Women's Super League, before returning home to play for the NWSL's San Diego Wave in 2026
• Hailing from San Diego, but born in Brazil, Macario has represented the United States at various levels throughout her career, including making her debut for the U.S. Women's National Team in January 2021 ... playing for Team USA at the Toyko Olympics, Macario helped the United States to bronze