No. 2 North Carolina Next – Stanford Cardinal

MATCH NOTABLES

Seven of the last 10 matches between the two teams have been level at the end of 90 minutes … 11 of the 16 matches all-time have been decided by one goal or fewer, but UNC holds a 31-9 advantage in goals overall … Stanford was 0-5-1 against UNC prior to 2002 as the Tar Heels outscored the Cardinal 18-2 in those matches … Stanford defeated North Carolina 5-4 in a penalty kick shootout to capture the 2019 national title, while North Carolina defeated Stanford 1-0 to win the 2009 national championship

QUICK PASSES

• Stanford, ranked No. 2 in the nation to start the year, entered the week ranked No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 5 according to TopDrawerSoccer … spent three consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches poll starting on September 2 after reaching the College Cup Final and closing the season ranked second in the nation a year ago … the top ranking was the first for Stanford since finishing the 2019 season as the national champion
• The loss to Florida State in the 2023 national championship match snapped a string of 36 consecutive unbeaten matches (30-0-6), and Stanford is now unbeaten in 48 of its last 51 (41-3-7)
• The Cardinal owns a 117-6-10 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 Thursday vs. No. 1 Duke
• The 4-1 home loss was the largest margin of defeat in a home contest since a 3-0 loss to North Carolina on October 1, 1995
• Stanford has posted a shutout in eight of its first 14 matches of the season and has managed a clean sheet in 28 of its last 47 contests overall … .571 shutout percentage ranks third in the ACC and 25th in the nation … is 7-1-0 in matches decided by one goal this season, including having posted five 1-0 shutouts
• The Cardinal went 4-0 in the month of August – outscoring opponents 8-1 – and 6-1-1 in September while holding a 10-3 advantage in scoring
• The Cardinal has won two of the last seven College Cups – most recently capturing the title in 2019
• Stanford made its 11th appearance in the College Cup, and its sixth appearance in the College Cup Final, last year … is 3-3 in national championship matches
• With a 1-0 victory at San Francisco to start the season, Stanford extended its unbeaten streak to 18 straight matches in season openers (17-0-1) and has posted 10 shutouts over the string … the victory marked the fourth consecutive campaign that Stanford opened the year…