Stanford (5-5-4, 2-3-2)
Cardinal Overwhelms Aztecs
Stanford’s 4-0 victory over visiting San Diego State on Thursday night was not just a dominant performance against one of the best defensive teams in the Pac-12, but also a measure of revenge for the Cardinal’s 1-0 overtime loss to the Aztecs earlier this season. The Aztecs had given up only 6 goals in their previous 12 matches this season.
The Cardinal got on the board in the 3rd minute when Carlo Agostinelli sent in a cross from the right side. Zach Ryan timed his run perfectly to raise his right leg and volley the ball into the net at the near post.
Stanford added another 4 minutes before halftime. Will Reilly’s cross from the right corner took a single hop and found Gabe Segal at the far post. Segal’s volley took two hops and eluded the outstretched left hand of goalkeeper Jacob Castro. Ryan Dunn also earned his first collegiate assist on the goal.
The Cardinal earned a penalty kick 85 seconds into the second half when the Aztecs’ Blake Bowen took down Will Richmond in the box; Castro guessed correctly on Ryan’s penalty kick, but was unable to deflect it away.
Cardinal Goalkeeper Matt Frank made a pair of key saves in the 62nd minute. Laukoa Santos fired a shot from left side toward the near post. Frank punched it away, but the ball made its way across the goalmouth to Blake Bowen at the far post. Frank got up quickly, rushed to the other side, and made a kick save to send the ball over the end line.
Dunn closed out the scoring in the 85th minute with the first goal of his college career. Nolan Evers received a pass at the edge of the box, near the end line. He went around an SDSU defender and sent in a cross that bounced along the turf to Dunn who blasted a one-timer just inside the far post.
Cardinal Battle Back to Earn a Point vs. UCLA
Stanford and #22 UCLA (8-5-1, 3-3-1) played to a 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon. The game started a half-hour earlier than scheduled and both clubs struggled with soggy field conditions after a full day of heavy rains in the Bay Area.
The teams were evenly matched, with UCLA holding a 10-9 edge in shots, while Cardinal had 5 shots on goal to the Bruins’ 3.
The Bruins scored in the 74th minute, off of a corner kick by Tucker Lepley. Goalkeeper Matt Frank got a hand on the in-swinging kick, but his attempted clearance went straight up in the air. The Bruins’ Kevin Diaz headed it across the goalmouth to the left post, where Jose Contell ran onto the ball, slammed it into the net, and slipped on a puddle of water as he and his teammates began their goal celebration.
The Cardinal evened the match 8 minutes later, Carlo Agostinelli blasted a free kick into the box from well outside the penalty area. Keegan Hughes leaped and sent a downward header that bounced off of the hands of goalkeeper Justin Garces. Noah Adnan grabbed the rebound and stretched out his right leg to redirect the ball into the net.
The head referee decided to end the match without playing the overtime periods due to unplayable field conditions.
Cal (3-8-2, 1-5)
Two Second-Half Goals Key Cal Comeback Win
Adrian Guzman’s 89th minute goal capped Cal’s 2-1 comeback win over #22 UCLA (8-5-0, 3-3-0) at Edwards Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
UCLA’s lone tally of the match came in the 43rd minute on a Cal own goal that was set up by the Bruins’ methodical buildup. Kevin Diaz eluded a Cal defender and passed the ball to Tucker Lepley just inside the penalty arc. Lepley dished it off to Jose Contell as he started his run along the right side of the box. Contell sent in a low cross toward Tommy Silva at the back post, but Cal’s Jack Singer accidentally deflected it into the net.
The Bears equalized in the 74th minute. Christopher Grey intercepted a pass near the left touchline and lobbed it to Ian Lonergan, who sent a short cross to Fahmi Ibrahim, with several Bruin defenders nearby. Ibrahim’s curving volley went over the defenders’ heads and settled inside the far post.
UCLA had a chance in the 88th minute, but goalkeeper Collin Travasos stopped a low shot by Riley Ferch.
The match appeared headed for overtime, until Guzman received the ball with his back to the goal, took a couple of dribbles, and fired a left-footed blast from beyond the penalty area that landed in the upper left corner of the net, as the Bears’ players rushed over to the corner flag to celebrate.
Postponement
The Bears’ match with San Diego State, scheduled for Sunday afternoon, was postponed until November 14 due to inclement weather.
Saint Mary’s (9-4-1, 2-0-1)
Gaels Outlast Pacific Despite Late Controversy
A strong individual effort by David Brog enabled the Gaels to post a 1-0 win over Pacific (6-5-1, 1-1-1) on Saturday afternoon.
The goal came in the 64th minute, when Brog chased down a through pass from Cade Cowan near midfield and started his run, pursued by several Tigers defenders and two Gaels attackers. As he approached the penalty area, he went around the Tigers’ Emory Rapaport and goalkeeper Eric Cotton came out to cut down the angle. Brog’s right-footed shot deflected off of Cotton’s foot, slowing it down enough for Tigers defender Jose Angel Reyes to chase it down near the goal line, but Reyes was unable to keep it from going in.
The match got heated in the 88th minute as the Tigers pressed for an equalizer. The Tigers earned a corner kick, but Pacific’s Charles Brewah was yellow carded. The kick bounced around the penalty area and nearly went into the net, but Saint Mary’s goalkeeper Nicholas Lapinid reached back while on the ground to prevent it from crossing the line. Pacific vehemently argued that the ball had crossed the plane and the Tigers’ Mathias Saether was yellow carded on the play.
But the call stood, enabling the Gaels to remain unbeaten in West Coast Conference play, ahead of next week’s showdowns with #25 Santa Clara and #9 Loyola Marymount.
Santa Clara (8-1-3, 2-0-1)
Broncos Hold On for Win Over San Diego
Santa Clara scored 3 times in the first 30 minutes and held on for a 3-2 home win over San Diego (1-12, 0-3) on Saturday night.
The Broncos got on the board in the 6th minute, when Juan O’Neill sent a through ball from near midfield just as Alex Achramowicz made his run into the penalty area. Goalkeeper Berk Watson came out to challenge, but Achramowicz’s strong finish gave him no chance.
The Broncos doubled their margin in the 21st minute on a corner kick from Javier Ruiz Duran that found Caden Buckley at the far edge of the 6-yard box; Buckley headed it back into the middle for Joshua Dabora, whose leaping header from close range sailed over Watson’s head and into the net.
Nine minutes later, Dabora earned a brace thanks to a miscommunication in the Torrero defense. The ball bounced around in the box after a Bronco corner kick. A Torrero defender tried to head the ball back to Watson, but the goalkeeper mishandled it and Dabora was waiting to redirect it into the net.
San Diego got one back in the 35th minute when Nicklas Clausen emerged from a crowd of players in the 6-yard box to head home a Mason Turnbridge corner kick.
Clausen earned a brace of his own in the 52nd minute, when he got behind the Broncos’ defense to meet Rhys Gourdie’s through ball from the Torreros’ half. Clausen tried to sneak his shot between goalkeeper Andreu Cases Mundet and the near post. Cases Mundet got a hand on it, but the ball caromed off of the inside of the post and back into the net.
USF (2-8-1, 0-2-1)
Bracken Serra’s 40th Minute Blast Propels Dons Past Omaha
The Dons scored the only goal in the match just before halftime and held on to earn their first road victory of the season over Omaha (4-7-1, 2-1-0) on Tuesday night.
The goal came in the 40th minute, after USF’s Nathan Buckalew’s throw-in from the right side was headed away by the Mavs’ Ed Gordon. The Dons’ Ferdy Ghafury grabbed the loose ball at the top of the penalty arc and tapped it back to Gabriel Bracken Serra, whose left-footed blast from well beyond the penalty area skidded along the turf before settling just inside the far post, out of the reach of goalkeeper Lute Lillo Portero.
Dons’ goalkeeper Brandon Keniston made 3 saves in the first half, stopping 2 shots from close range by Hugo Kametani in the first 15 minutes, as well diving to get his hand on a shot by Mitch Hammer in the 32nd minute.
Kametani had another goal attempt 5 seconds into the second half, but his right-footed shot was straight at Keniston.
The Mavs’ best chance of the match came in the 61st minute, when a long ball from near the left touchline found Mikkel Fodstad unmarked in the box. Fodstad’s header soared over Keniston’s head and bounced off the right post. Kenji Mboma Dem tracked down the rebound and chipped the ball toward the net, but Keniston made the easy save.
Fodstad had another shot in the final minute of play, their 14th of the match, but the ball went wide.
Zags Take Down Dons in Overtime
The Dons battled back twice on a rainy Saturday night in San Francisco, but Gonzaga (7-6-0, 2-1-0) took home the points when Leon Sitz ended the match in the 8th minute of the first overtime.
The Zags’ golden goal was set up through a series of short passes through the midfield. They led to a through ball to Sitz, who got behind the Dons’ backline and chased down the ball into the penalty area. Goalkeeper Brandon Keniston dove out after it, but Sitz got there a split-second before him and lifted a shot over Keniston and into the empty net.
USF’s resiliency was challenged early, when Elias Thomas was red carded in the 21st minute, leaving the Dons to play with 10 men for the remainder of the match.
The Zags took advantage of the Dons’ misfortune 3 minutes later. A Zags’ cross gave Loic Baures an opportunity at the near post. Keniston made the save, but Wylie Trujilo was there to put in the rebound.
The Dons drew even in the 56th minute. Kevyn Lo’s free kick from 35 yards out found Nonso Adimabua with space in the box; Adimabua headed it downward and into the net from point blank range.
The Zags reclaimed the lead in the 76th minute, when Frankie Ljucovic chased down the ball near the penalty arc. Ljucovic played a give-and-go with Sitz on his right to set up a one-timer from just outside the 6-yard box.
The Dons responded again three minutes later, when Shayan Charalaghi emerged from a crowd of players in the box to head home a corner kick from Gabriel Bracken Serra.
San José State (8-5-2, 6-1-1)
Spartans Vanquish Vaqueros
San José State kicked off their two-match Texas trip with a 2-1 win over The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (6-6, 3-3) on Friday afternoon. Spartans goalkeeper Eric Waltz made 4 saves to keep the Vaqueros off of the scoreboard after relieving David Sweeney in the 25th minute.
The Spartans opened the scoring in the 12th minute, when Finlay Wood found Max Allen streaking along the left side of the penalty area. Allen’s shot bounced hard off of the post, but Rudi Castro stole the rebound from a Vaqueros defender and sent a low, hard shot that settled inside the far post.
UTRGV evened the match less than three minutes later, when Jose Cantu sent the ball to Jan Engels making his run along the right side. Engels trapped the pass with his right foot, cut back and fired a left-footed rocket from the edge of the penalty area that Sweeney couldn’t reach.
Waltz made an excellent save in the 32nd minute, getting his hands up to deflect away a shot from point blank range by Yusuf Cueceoglu.
Allen scored the game-winner in the 58th minute, on a shot from well beyond the penalty area that made its way through several Vaqueros defenders and beat goalkeeper Oliver Padilla at the near post.
SJSU Completes Texas Sweep With Win Over Incarnate Word
Kasper Poulsgaard’s 88th minute goal and a stout defense propelled San José State to a 1-0 win at Incarnate Word (4-8-2, 3-4-1) on Sunday.
With a little more than 2 minutes remaining in regulation time, the Spartans earned a free kick 30 yards from goal. Rudi Castro’s kick was redirected into the air by the Cardinals’ three-man wall. As the ball came down near the right post, Poulsgaard collided with goalkeeper Charles Beck and a Cardinal defender and headed the ball into the net, as another Cardinal rushed toward the goal line in a desperate attempt to keep it from going in.
San José State goalkeeper Eric Waltz earned his second road clean sheet of the season. The Cardinals’ lone shot of the match was taken by Koen Vos in the 39th minute and went wide left.
