Stanford knows it can contend for a national women’s soccer title.
Returning the bulk of their scoring, the No. 21 Cardinal know they can put the ball in the net. It’s more the timing that they need to sort out.
Maya Doms, voted a preseason Pac-12 midfielder to watch, said that has been the focus of the preseason.
“We don’t want to have mercy on teams,” she said. “Definitely looking at finishing the second half strong.”
Stanford has won two of the past five College Cups, most recently in 2019. The Cardinal (13-6-1) were bounced in the first round in 2021 by Santa Clara, their earliest postseason exit since 2005. Even so, for the seventh time in eight seasons, Pac-12 coaches picked the Cardinal as the conference favorites this season.
Stanford opens at home Thursday against Sacramento State, then hosts an exhibition match against the Chinese national team Sunday. The nonconference schedule includes No. 14 Penn State and a rematch against Santa Clara on Sept. 18, before getting into the uber-competitive Pac-12, which includes nationally ranked UCLA, USC and Washington State.
“We’re working on a winner’s mentality,” senior midfielder Sierra Enge said. “A lot of drills have been about, who’s the winner, who’s going to get the ball, who’s going to put it in the back of the net?” When it comes down to the last few minutes of the game, the biggest change we need is getting that championship mentality.”
Like Doms, Enge was a part of the 2019 national champion team. The Cardinal returned in the spring of 2021 for the pandemic-delayed 2020 season, and finished 6-6-2, outside of the postseason. They then returned in the fall with a short offseason.
Doms called the routine fall season “a relief” after experiencing a full summer away. That could give the Cardinal a boost after the previous early exits.
“I’m hoping it can be semi-normal for us,” head coach Paul Ratcliffe said. “They’ve been high energy, high enthusiasm.”
Doms, who started all 20 games last season, said having a bigger roster has helped the Cardinal. With 30 players, the Cardinal have been able to practice at 11-on-11 for what Doms said was “one of the first times.”
“Sometimes in the past, we’ve had coaches having to play at outside back or whatever,” she said. “Now we’re able to switch around lineups more and find the right chemistry. … It makes everyone more intense because they know playing time won’t come easy.”
“We have 30 players who could start,” Enge said. “That makes being here so exciting.”
Ratcliffe, who boasts a 339-64-32 record over 20 seasons, said having such a large pool of players allows him to look at the lineup on a “week-by-week basis,” during such a competitive schedule.
“I don’t think you find your real lineup until the first few games,” he said.
Expectations are typically high for the Cardinal. They’re one of the premier teams in the nation, and usually figure to be there late in the postseason. That hasn’t always been the case, but power in numbers just might be the key.
“It’s great we have a lot of players here,” Doms said. “That will make an impact for us, especially if our starters get tired and we have options in the second half.”
Marisa Ingemi is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected]