Each of the Bay Area clubs played only one match this week. Stanford and Cal are preparing for the start of Pac-12 conference play on September 15, while Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara, USF, and San Jose State will continue their non-conference schedule for another two weeks.
#2 Stanford (4-0-1)
Stanford grabbed the lead 41 seconds into the match, but host Creighton rallied in the second half to earn a 1-1 draw in front of a capacity crowd for the 10th Annual Socctoberfest.
(Courtesy of Mark Kuhlmann, Creighton University)
The Cardinal scored 41 seconds into the match by flooding the penalty area with attackers. Creighton Goalkeeper Paul Kruse made a sliding stop on a shot by Jackson Kiil, but Carlo Agostinelli converted the rebound for his third goal of the season.
Stanford’s 1-0 lead held up for most of the match, but both goalkeepers made tough stops to keep their teams in the game. Kruse made a kick save to thwart a breakaway from Kiil in the 42nd minute. Cardinal goalkeeper Matt Frank stopped a pair of tough shots, diving to thwart Charles Auguste in the 66th minute, than reacting quickly to push away a header from Jackson Castro less than a minute later.
Stanford appeared to be headed for victory until Castro equalized in the 74th minute on a shot from the penalty arc that Frank couldn’t reach.
The Cardinal pressed forward in the final minutes, but were denied a game-winning goal. Their final opportunity came with a little more than 90 seconds left, when Keegan Hughes’ blast sailed over the bar.
Cal (1-1-3)
The Golden Bears claimed their first victory of the season with a 1-0 win over California Baptist on Saturday at Edwards Stadium.
(Courtesy of Aza Garcia, UC Berkeley)
Shoei Honda scored the only goal of the match in the 78th minute. Evan Davila stole the ball in midfield, nutmegged a Lancer defender, and passed it to Nonso Adimabua, who was making his run toward the penalty area. Adimabua laid the ball off to Honda, whose shot from the edge of the 6-yard box slid past goalkeeper Nolan Premack.
There were few clear chances on either side, and both clubs ended the match with 3 shots on goal. Prior to Honda’s strike, the Golden Bears’ best chance came seconds before the first half whistle, as Fahmi Ibrahim’s cross found Adimabua perched in front to the goal, but his header when straight into Premack’s hands.
Cal goalkeeper Collin Travasos made three saves in keeping a clean sheet for the first time this season.
Saint Mary’s (3-2)
The Gaels routed San Jose State (1-3-1) 4-0 in their first road match of the season. The opening kickoff was delayed until 8:30 p.m. because of extreme temperatures.
(Courtesy of San Jose State University)
The Gaels took the lead in the 8th minute, when Matthias Kuhn sent a direct ball from near midfield into the Spartan penalty area. Omar Yehya outraced the SJSU defenders to the ball. Goalkeeper David Sweeney rushed out to challenge, but Yehya’s right-footed shot gave him no chance.
Saint Mary’s added another on a set piece in the 38th minute. Greg Brighton sent his corner kick to the far post and Felix Calero timed his leap perfectly to head in his second goal of the season.
The Gaels added another set piece goal in the 58th minute. Bordanne Ngongfor’s corner kick found Riley Lynch just inside the box on the left side. Lynch’s shot deflected off a defender and bounced in to the right side of the net.
The visitors wrapped up the scoring in the 70th minute, thanks a pass from Yehya to Lynch, and then a cross to Gael Quintero, who took on a defender and beat Sweeney with a shot into the right side of the net.
Goalkeeper Jack Landreth earned a clean sheet in just his second start at Saint Mary’s, after transferring from Cal State East Bay this year. His toughest save came in the 54th minute, when leaped to redirect a shot from Gaku Nishimora over the crossbar.
Santa Clara (1-2-1)
After a two-hour delay to the start of the match due to lightning, Santa Clara came up big in its first road test of the season with a 2-0 win over Grand Canyon.
The match drew a near-capacity crowd to GCU Stadium, but many of them had gone home by the time the match got underway.
After a scoreless first half, the Broncos got on the board in the 66th minute, thanks to Pierce Dyal. Tyrone Kirunda’s cross deflected off of a defender as Dyal made his run into the penalty area. His one-timer slipped past goalkeeper Leon Schmidt into the lower left corner of the net.
The Broncos put the match away on the counterattack three minutes later. Jesse Anamoo played a two-man game with Dylan Penn, receiving a through ball just outside the midfield circle, tapping it over to Penn, and breaking away from a pair of Lopes defender before chipping the ball over Schmidt from eight yards out.
Felix Schaefer kept a clean sheet with 2 saves for Santa Clara. The host side came closest to scoring in the 61st minute when Alec LaBarge’s shot hit the post.
USF (3-0-2)
The Dons remained unbeaten thanks to a 1-1 draw with Seattle University on Thursday evening.
(Courtesy of Christina Leung, University of San Francisco)
USF jumped into the lead in the 26th minute thanks to a fine individual effort from Rodrigo Bueno. Nathan Simeon fed Bueno the ball as he made a run down the left side. Bueno cut the ball back to his right foot and lofted a shot that deflected off of a Seattle defender, clanked off the inside of the far post, and settled into the net.
But the Redhawks equalized in the 76th minute when Jesse Ortiz converted on a cross from Luke Hammond. It was Ortiz’s first goal since August of 2021, after missing most of last season due to injury.
The match was evenly played, with USF holding a slight advantage in shots (13-11) and shots on goal (7-6). Seattle’s Declan McGlynn was unlucky not to score, with shots that hit the post on three separate occasions.
