Athens, GA - The 23rd-ranked Georgia soccer team (4-1-0) will
travel its furthest distance of the season this weekend for perhaps
its most daunting task, set to take on second-ranked Stanford (2-0-2)
and No. 9 Santa Clara (2-0-1).

Both games will be played on the Stanford campus in Palo Alto,
Calif., as part of the Stanford Nike Invitational. Georgia will take
on the host Cardinal on Friday night at 10 p.m. ET and remain in town
to take on nearby Santa Clara on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET at Cagan
Stadium. The Bulldogs ran the table at their own Nike Invitational two weeks ago, defeating Utah and Kansas by a combined score of 8-0. Pacific will be the fourth team in the Stanford tournament.

Live stats will be available for both contests on Georgiadogs.com, in
addition to the return of the Georgia Soccer live blog. Sign on at
kickoff to follow the action and ask questions of the UGA Sports
Communications staff. The link can be accessed on the far right side
of the soccer homepage.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Bulldogs are in the midst of a four-game road trip that started last weekend in their home state. The Dogs emerged unscathed on a 2-0 clip as they defeated in-state foes Mercer (3-2, 2OT) and Georgia State (5-1) to move to 4-1 on the early season.
After playing two in California, Georgia returns home to take on the
College of Charleston on Fri., Sept. 17 at 7 p.m.

In 2009 the Bulldogs were 5-3 away from Athens.

LAST TIME OUT: Alex Hooker scored the go-ahead goal with 4:29 to play in the second extra period in Georgia’s 3-2 come-from-behind win over Mercer on Friday night in Macon, Ga. By erasing a 2-0 deficit at the half, the Bulldogs overcame their largest setback in a game since the 2001 season. Georgia had not played an overtime game since Oct. 19, 2008.

On Sunday vs. GSU, the offense was sparked by a pair of freshmen as
Meghan Gibbons had a hat trick and Nicole Locandro added two goals
for the Bulldogs. It was the first Georgia hat trick since Carrie
Patterson’s in the 2009 season opener vs. Kennesaw State, the 11th in
school history and the only one in the SEC so far this season.

LOOKING AT STANFORD: The defending national champion Stanford
Cardinal stands at 2-0-2 on the season and has not played since
earning a 2-1 victory over Duke Aug. 29 as part of the Carolina
Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Friday will serve as the home opener for Stanford, which has played
two road games and two in neutral sites. Both of the Cardinal
victories came via a 2-1 score (Boston University, Duke) and both
ties were in overtime. In addition to a 1-1 double overtime draw to
Boston College in the season opener, Stanford tied the defending
champion UNC Tar Heels, 2-2, in a rematch of the 2009 NCAA final.

Stanford has not lost a home game in nearly three calendar years,
dating all the way back to Oct. 19, 2007 when they fell to top-ranked
UCLA, 2-0 at Cagan Stadium. That streak equates to 23 straight home
games without a loss for the Cardinal.

Stanford has gotten goals from four players, led by Christen Press
with three and Teresa Noyola with two and an assist. Kira Maker has
played all 400 minutes in goal, posting a 1.12 goals-against average
and allowing five goals while making 11 saves.

Georgia is 1-1 all-time in just two meetings with the Cardinal in
their history. Most recently Stanford defeated the Bulldogs by a 2-0
score on Sept. 7, 2008 in Athens. Stanford was ranked No. 10 at the
time. Georgia is 2-6-2 all-time against Pac-10 rivals.

A CHANCE AT HISTORY: A win over No. 2 Stanford would make the
Cardinal the highest-ranked opponent Georgia has ever defeated. The
Bulldogs’ previous high came last season as they used two second-half
goals from Carrie Patterson to upset then-No. 5 South Carolina on
Oct. 16, 2009 in Athens.

Georgia is 19-27-5 all-time against nationally-ranked opponents.

The match-ups with Stanford and Santa Clara are UGA’s highest
combined back-to-back opponents since meeting No. 3 Southern
California and No. 3 North Carolina on Sept. 12 and 19, 2008.

LOOKING AT SANTA CLARA: The ninth-ranked Broncos are 3-1-1 this
season, most recently having participated in the Notre Dame
Tournament where they split vs. the host Fighting Irish (L, 1-0) and
Ole Miss (W, 3-0) Sept. 3 and 5.

The perennial power Santa Clara is led by Anessa Patton’s two goals
while four other players have one goal each. Bianca Henninger has
played all five games in goal, making 17 saves and allowing just 0.57
goals per game.

Santa Clara won the only meeting between the two programs, a 5-1
victory on Sept. 19, 2003 in California.

Georgia has never defeated a West Coast Conference team, standing at 0-3 all-time against the league with losses to Santa Clara, Loyola
Marymount, and Portland.

The Broncos reached the third round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament,
their season ended via a 1-0 loss to Stanford.

OFFENSIVE OUTPOURING: Since getting shut out by Duke in the season-opener, the Bulldogs have scored 16 goals in their past four outings.With Sunday’s three-plus goal game, Georgia has now scored three or more in their last four to do so for the first time in program
history. Their last four games have resulted in wins of 3-0, 5-0,
3-2, and 5-1.

On the season the Bulldogs are outshooting opponents 110-40 and
outscoring them 16-4. Shots per game are 22-8 while corners are 45-15.

SECOND HALF TEAM: Georgia is knotted with the opposition, 4-4, in the first halves this season. But after halftime (including the Mercer
overtimes) the Bulldogs have held the other teams scoreless while
putting 12 in the net.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Georgia soccer incoming class of 14 was highly touted all offseason, and the group has not disappointed.
Through five games in 2010, the freshmen have scored 11 of Georgia’s
16 goals, accounting for 69 percent of the goals, 44 percent of the
assists, and 60 percent of the total points.

Four freshmen -- Alexa Newfield, Torri Allen, Carli Shultis, and
Nicole Locandro -- have earned starting spots while rookie Meghan
Gibbons leads the team in goals (5) coming off the bench. Four more
newcomers have seen game action.

The biggest testament to the strength of the class has been the
Bulldogs’ two-week sweep of the SEC Freshman of the Week honors. The first two weekly awards have gone to Newfield and Locandro,
respectively.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (AGAIN): Midfielder Nicole Locandro picked up the Georgia soccer team’s second consecutive SEC Freshman of the Week honor, the Southeastern Conference office announced Monday morning. Georgia is now 2-for-2 in the weekly honor for rookies as Alexa Newfield captured the award last week.

Locandro scored three goals and had an assist to come away with a
seven-point weekend in the Bulldogs’ weekend road sweep of Mercer and Georgia State.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Bulldogs return home to the UGA Soccer Stadium next Friday to host the College of Charleston for a 7 p.m. match-up Sept. 17. That will be the only game of the weekend for the Bulldogs, who are off Sunday before jumping into SEC play the following week.