Injuries, turnover have changed perennial national power When you think of Stanford soccer history, you think of U.S. Olympian Julie Foudy carving up opposing midfields, former U.S. striker Sarah Rafanelli scoring in bunches, and Jessica Fischer clamping down on opposing forwards. You think of success in the ’90s ù a record of 112-24-5, a winning percentage of .812, seven NCAA tournament appearances in seven years and a final four berth in 1993. But that’s all in the past. The current Stanford program has little to link it to those teams other than its red and white uniforms. Last season, the Cardinal brought in 10 freshmen and its third head coach in five years and wasn’t nearly as dominant as it had been in the days when Foudy patrolled Maloney Field. This year’s team will even play on a different patch of grass ù New Maloney Field, which is located between Sunken Diamond, the baseball stadium, and Stanford (football) Stadium. The Cardinal is now in its second year under coach Steve Swanson and hoping to improve on a 12-9-0 record. Stanford eked out a Pac-10 Conference title before bowing to local rival Santa Clara 3-2 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Stanford played a difficult schedule last year, but nine losses ù including shutouts by Cal and Colorado College ù dropped it from the elite status it used to hold. It hadn’t lost more than four games in a season since 1987, when it lost 10. Swanson doesn’t like comparisons to the past. “The Stanford women’s soccer team has a rich history,” Swanson said. “Our aim is not only to add to this tradition but make our own history along the way.” The loss of eight seniors gives this year’s team the chance to make its own mark. It has six sophomores, four redshirt freshmen and five true freshmen and only nine upperclassmen. It is, however, a talented group that features sophomore defender Ronnie Fair, who played with the U.S. national team and the under-20 national team this past offseason, sophomore defender and Jen O’Sullivan, also a U-20 pool player, and blue-chip midfielder Celina DeLeon. “We’ve got a lot of potential,” Swanson added. “We’re relatively inexperienced, though. A lot will depend on us getting a little bit of confidence. One of the difficulties when you’re at a place like Stanford is expectations. No one has more expectations than me. We’re trying to progress and improve the program here. Sometimes that takes a little bit of time.”