Spencer had coached for a year at Stanford in 2012, in between the end of her playing career and her return to the Wildcats’ sidelines as an assistant. The program’s resources and the opportunity for a new challenge brought her back to California.
“The curiosity about what it would be like to be coaching at a place like Stanford, where we have truly incredible resources, incredible facilities, and there are so many teams here that are winning national championships,” Spencer said. “For me, as a young ambitious coach, you just think, ‘Well, man, I want to do that.’”
She takes over a team that finished 13-6 in 2019 and is returning all four of its leading scorers. Junior attacker Ali Baiocco broke out in 2018, earning recognition as the conference’s Freshman of the Year and with a spot on the Tewaaraton Watch List. She followed it up with a 52-goal, All-Pac-12 season in 2019.
Further south, the Sun Devils have gone 6-12 the last two seasons. They bring a young core and a fresh coaching staff — one that features 2016 Tewaaraton finalist Nicole Graziano, former Stony Brook All-American Dorrien Van Dyke and current pro midfielder Pat Harbeson, who played for Redwoods in the PLL’s inaugural season.
The West Coast brings its scheduling challenges. Spencer noted that the “Northwestern Network” has made it easier to find non-conference opponents. But McCormack and Spencer have both made sure to travel to the Midwest to Evanston to face their former program this season. The Sun Devils play the Wildcats on Feb. 16, and the Cardinal will visit two weeks later on March 1.
Arizona State opens its season with a trip to UC Davis on Saturday. Stanford will take on No. 13 Denver on the road that same afternoon.
For both programs, there should be a touch of Northwestern flare.