Stanford Women's Soccer Ranked Top 10 in Preseason Poll

The start of Stanford women’s soccer campaign is just around the corner, and hype is building entering the 2025 season. The Cardinal have a storied history with a number of national championships, and are looking to be great in the upcoming season, continuing their legacy.

Recently, the NCAA came out with their preseason rankings. Many great teams such as North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Florida State highlight the list, but Stanford makes a quick appearance, coming in at No. 7, after finishing the 2024 season ranked No. 4.

There are eight teams in the ACC that received at least a mention in the ranking, with the Cardinal coming in at number five among the schools in their conference. The four teams above them are North Carolina, Notre Dame, Florida State, and Duke, while Clemson and Stanford’s rival Cal are both in the "receiving votes" category, but not on the list.

Last season, Stanford finished the year 16-5-2, including an memorable win over No. 2 North Carolina in Palo Alto. In the NCAA Tournament, they won four games, against UC Santa Barbara, UConn, Arkansas, and Notre Dame, before falling to Wake Forest in the National Semifinals.

Stanford’s key returner is Andrea Kitahata, a forward who had nine goals and six assists in her senior season. She returns for a grad year, where she'll be attempting to lead the Cardinal to glory. Allie Montoya (senior) and Maryn Wolf (junior) will be among the forwards that will be looking to provide assistance as well.

The Cardinal return their incredible midfield core of Shae Harvey, Charlotte Kohler, and Mia Bhuta, who combined for 13 goals and eight assists last year. The bunch will surely help Kitahata continue to score, but also provide help to the defense.

Defensively, Stanford returns Lizzie Boamah, who also collected seven points (three goals, one assist) in 1,248 minutes of play, while senior Elise Evans is also in the mix after starting 16 games last season and racking up 1,430 minutes. Next season, they will have to rely on new incomers to step up in those roles.

With many impact players next season, the Cardinal have high hopes, and their schedule plays into it as well. They play just two currently ranked teams in the ACC next year in Virginia Tech and Virginia. To make matters better, they get both at home.

Stanford has so many players that can contribute next season, which gives them high hopes. Not only that, but the attendance, traditions, and program history put Stanford in a position to truly compete with the other top dogs. They also have a schedule that appears to be on the easier side, meaning the luck of the draw will also help the Cardinal do well next season.

All of these factors play on to the fact that Stanford is real a contender next season, and could be raising the National Championship trophy in November.

The season kicks off on Thursday, August 14 at home against San Francisco, with the match scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (PT).