With the Women’s College Cup set to begin Friday, we enlisted the help of three college coaches who are well familiarized with the combatants. For the sake of anonymity, the coaches’ names have been changed but the insights and predictions remain legitimate.

Stanford's Kelley O'Hara (Photo courtesy of Stanford Athletics.)

So of the four teams: Notre Dame, North Carolina, UCLA and Stanford, Notre Dame is probably the underdog … Do they have a chance?

Coach A: You can’t sell Notre Dame short. They are an effective team who has good players (like) Melissa Henderson. North Carolina has more in terms of attacking.

Coach B: The reason they can beat North Carolina is because they believe they can beat them. Should they? No. I would not be surprised if it’s 3-1 North Carolina, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if Notre Dame figures it out.

What’s the key to beating North Carolina, if there is one?

Coach A: The two keys to having a chance is you have to avoid making mistakes in the back because they are opportunistic. Secondly, it’s difficult to play their style of game. They like to play style balls and they are more of a territorial team – they want the ball in other teams half. So to beat them you may have to hold the ball a little and change the direction of the attack.

Coach B: Notre Dame’s biggest issue is playing the way they want to against North Carolina. If they lose possessions it’s going to be a problem. But they’re playing well - they always play their best soccer at the end of year. Randy Waldrum is a good coach, and he figures it out. A lot was made of moving Lauren Fowlkes up front from center back – it was a good move; done out of necessity.

How do you see the Stanford-UCLA matchup playing out?

Coach C: It will come down to who can play closest to their style. UCLA likes a traditional 4-4-2 but they are a little more dynamic than they are usually; they like to run you out of space and run you back.

UCLA's Kristina Larsen (Photo courtesy of UCLA Athletics)

Stanford will play a 4-3-3, so there will be some interesting matchups there. Stanford beat them 2-0 earlier in the year … I think Stanford will win based on the fact that it will be a big field in Texas, and I think they will be a little more athletic all over the field.

UCLA has been there so many times though, and that’s a factor.

Who are some X factors for each team coming into the matches?

Coach B: I think (Notre Dame’s) Courtney Barg is the best midfielder in the conference. I really do. She is so great with the ball and she does all the things to relieve pressure – that frees up their fullbacks to really get forward.

Coach C: Teresa Noyola is so strong in the midfield. Stanford is very, very good there and Noyola sparks them.  

And of course, there are the stars?

Coach A: Casey Nogueira (North Carolina) is a great player. The whole team is good at individual ball control.

Coach C: I mean, (Stanford’s) Kelley O’Hara scored 25 times. Wow. … You watch Lauren Cheney from a far and you might think, she’s good but she lacks a little pace. Then you see her up close and she’s amazing.

What are a few weaknesses of these powerhouse teams?

Coach B: With Notre Dame in the backline and in goal is where you think you can exploit them. They put Nikki Weiss in goal at the beginning of the year and it was really a risk but it has worked out.

Notre Dame's Lauren Fowlkes (Photo courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics)

Of their midfielders, Amanda Clark is the one you’re least concerned with.

Coach C: Defensively, UCLA has not been the strongest. Both of their wide backs are good with the ball end up going forward. So you can expose them behind the wide backs and there are chances there.

I feel like (Stanford defender) Ali Riley could be their weak link – you can get in behind her. The thing is, she played in the Olympic Games, so if that’s considered a weak link than you’re in pretty good shape.

Alright coaches, who wins the College Cup?

Coach A: It’s hard for me to say, I haven’t seen a lot of the west coast teams. Traditionally, it’s tough to beat North Carolina. They had players leave for U20s and they worked through it. Overall they’re probably as good if not better than they were last year.

Coach B: I like North Carolina to beat Notre Dame. I think of the top four teams in college soccer one of them isn’t here – Portland. I think Stanford is the best.

Coach C: Stanford is probably the best college team I’ve ever seen. Their front six is unbelievable and they bring people off the bench who are just as good. They have great pace up front, and they are very explosive. They can do it in a variety of ways, and they can do a little bit of everything.