Despite winning the ACC championship and finishing second in the NCAA tournament, the Cardinal are ranked No. 2 in the conference in the preseason poll.
Stanford women's soccer not only won the ACC championship last season by beating Notre Dame 5-4 in penalty kicks in a thrilling title match, but the Cardinal also went on to finish second in the NCAA tournament, losing to Florida State in the national championship game.
Yet, the Cardinal — and for that matter the Seminoles — aren't ranked No. 1 and No. 2. Instead, it's Notre Dame that sits atop the preseason standings, and it's worth keeping in mind that this is a team that Stanford beat for the ACC title, and then lost to Ohio State at home in a double overtime contest 11 days later, ending their season.
Florida State, the defending champions, are ranked No. 4, behind the Irish, Cardinal (No. 2), and Duke (No. 3).
The obvious reason for Stanford's ranking is that coaches believe the Cardinal will be less dominant without Jasmine Aikey. She led the team in points last season with 53, scoring a team-high 21 goals (ranked No. 3 in the nation) and adding 11 assists, which ranked second on Stanford.
Andrea Kitahata, a redshirt senior, was tied for 8th in the nation in goals scored with 17, ranking her second on the team behind Aikey. Now both players have moved on, which does lead to some questions about who will be doing the scoring for the Cardinal.
We know that junior Charlotte Kohler can set up anyone, leading the nation in assists last season with 17. We also know that sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Birkel has been added to the preseason All-ACC Team, along with Kohler, and had a solid freshman season.
Questions linger about Stanford's offensive identity and who will emerge as the primary scorer, but with the departure of senior Elise Evans, the defense will also have a slightly new look to it.
Incoming freshman London Young could be the answer for the defensive question, coming in as the 8th-ranked recruit overall in the nation. She was also the top defender in the class, according to Top Drawer Soccer.
Izzy Engle, Notre Dame's top scorer, is back after scoring 19 goals as a sophomore. Annabelle Chukwu scored 12 times in her sophomore season, while defender Abby Mills was ranked No. 59 in the Midseason Top-100 rankings from Top Drawer Soccer. All three are on the preseason All-ACC Team.
For Stanford, the early portion of this season will be about finding a rhythm with some new faces on the team. Finding a prominent goal scorer will be essential to Stanford's early-season success.
The season begins on Sunday, August 16 at 1 p.m. on the road against Cal Poly, but the program will also have an exhibition matchup at home against Pacific on Saturday, August 8 at 1 p.m.
