#5 Stanford (9-1-4, 3-1-3)
Cardinal Wins Seesaw Battle
Ryan Dunn’s 90th minute goal completed a late Cardinal comeback that enabled them to earn a 3-2 win at San Diego State on Thursday night.
The Cardinal initially grabbed the lead in the 7th minute on a header by Shane de Flores. A long ball from the Stanford half by Cam Cilley found Connor Evans as he made his run along the right side. Evans’ cross found a leaping de Flores for the emphatic finish.
But the Aztecs evened the match in the 35th minute when Blake Bowen cut the ball back to his left to avoid a pair of Stanford defenders and fired a rocket from 25 yards out that nestled inside the far post.
San Diego State appeared to take the lead when Iñigo Villaldea’s corner kick went directly into the net in the 77th minute, but Bowen was whistled for offside.
But Stanford’s reprieve was short-lived. Less than a minute later, Donovan Roux was tackled hard by Keenan Tingey and Villaldea converted the subsequent penalty kick.
The Cardinal equalized in 84th minute on a free kick from just outside the box by Carlo Agostinelli. It was headed back across the middle by de Flores and Jackson Kiil nodded it into the net.
The winning goal was set up by another Agostinelli set piece. His corner kick was headed away by an Aztec defender. Dunn grabbed the loose ball and fired a low shot that took a couple of bounces as it made its way through a crowd of players, as goalkeeper Jacob Castro could only look on in frustration.
Cardinal Complete SoCal Sweep at UCLA
Shane de Flores’ 71st minute goal was all the Cardinal needed to claim a 1-0 win over UCLA on Sunday afternoon.
The first half was a defensive struggle, with Stanford limited to 2 shots and UCLA 1.
UCLA’s Aaron Edwards had a couple of decent chances in the second half. Stanford goalkeeper Matt Frank made a diving stop on Edwards’ shot from just outside the box in the 47th minute. Eleven minutes later, Edwards had a shot from close range that sailed over the bar.
The Cardinal nearly scored on a set piece in the 68th minute, when Kevin Diaz cleared Zach Bohane’s shot off the line.
The goalscoring sequence began when Bohane dropped the ball off to Keegan Tingey near the touchline. Tingey took a step to his right, then cut back to his left to deliver a cross into the crowd of players running toward goal. de Flores leaped to win the ball, heading it downward and straight into the net.
The Cardinal nearly added another in the 75th minute, when goalkeeper Nate Crockford made a diving stop to stop Carlo Agostinelli.
Cal (3-6-5, 1-4-2)
Cal’s Valiant Defensive Effort Falls Short
The Golden Bears fought hard with 10 men, but UCLA was able to claim a 1-0 victory on Thursday night.
Cal had to play with 10 men after Cameron Robie was red carded in the 32nd minute after tripping up UCLA’s Jose Contell from behind in order to prevent a breakaway.
The Bruins scored the only goal of the match in the 42nd minute on a counterattack. Goalkeeper Nate Crockford caught a Cal cross and distributed the ball to Tommy Silva, who sent a long ball to Kevin Diaz as he made his run down the left side. Diaz crossed the ball to Contell at the back post. Cal’s Fernando Lara made a sliding tackle to stop Contell’s first shot attempt, but Contell deposited the rebound into the open net.
Cal’s best chance for an equalizer came in the 82nd minute, when a free kick set up Fahmi Ibrahim for a header, but Crockford made the save. Ibrahim also had another shot in the 89th minute, but it went high.
Golden Bears Earn Draw at SDSU
Fahmi Ibrahim converted a penalty kick with a little more than 3 minutes left, enabling Cal to earn a 2-2 draw with San Diego State on Sunday afternoon.
The Golden Bears earned the penalty after an Aztec defender was whistled for a hand ball in the box.
Cal’s Kevin Carmichael opened the scoring off of a set piece in the 34th minute. Ibrahim sent a free kick into the box and Carmichael pounced on it to score his first collegiate goal.
But the Aztecs scored a pair of goals in the second half to take the lead.
They tied it up in the 71st minute when Kyle Colonna emphatically headed home CJ Fodrey’s corner kick. And the Aztecs appeared on their way to victory 4 minutes later when Donovan Roux led Fodrey, who ran into the open space and blasted a one-timer home.
But Ibrahim’s penalty left the teams level after 90 minutes.
USF (7-3-3, 0-2-1) at Saint Mary’s (5-6-3, 0-1-2)
The match between these Bay Area and West Coast Conference rivals ended in a scoreless draw on Saturday afternoon.
(PHOTO: Saint Mary’s Athletics, Tod Fierner)
The Gaels outshot the Dons 11-7 in a match with few clear chances on either side.
Both goalkeepers made 2 saves over the 90 minutes while keeping a clean sheet. USF goalkeeper Eric Waltz’s toughest stop came in the 15th minute on a shot by Cade Cowan. Saint Mary’s goalkeeper Kash Oladapo made a big save on a shot by Omar Juarez in the 33rd minute. Juarez back footed a shot while facing away from the goal, but Oladopo reacted quickly, diving to his right to make the stop. .
Santa Clara (3-4-4, 0-1-2)
The Broncos’ recent troubles continued in their 4-2 loss at San Diego on Saturday night. Santa Clara hasn’t won a match in more than 5 weeks.
A Santa Clara mistake led to the home side’s first goal in the 15th minute. Goalkeeper Felix Schaefer took a free kick from well outside the box, and the Broncos’ Alejandro Barajas wasn’t able to trap the kick cleanly. San Diego’s Alex Churness won the ball, and played it ahead to Oshea Foster, who dribbled around Schaefer and buried it into the empty net.
The Broncos equalized 4 minutes later on a free kick from 25 yards out by Adem Hamdaoua.
But the Torreros took the lead for good in the 39th minute on a goal from Kevin Pena. Cesar Bahena intercepted a Santa Clara throw-in and headed it to Nicklas Clausen, who made a run along the right sideline and crossed it to Pena for the finish from just outside the 6-yard box.
Bahena scored a goal of his own in the 54th minute. Mason Tunbridge’s long ball from just over midfield found Bahena, who deked a Bronco defender and blasted the ball with his right foot past a diving Schaefer.
The Broncos found renewed hope in the 74th minute when Joshua Dabora converted the penalty kick after a hand ball by the USD defender.
But San Diego put the match away a minute and a half later. Pena took a free kick from just outside the box and found Simon Duus Muller as he made his run up the middle, through a crowd of Bronco defenders. Duus Muller headed the ball inside the near post.
San Jose State (8-4-2, 4-1-1)
Seven Game Unbeaten Streak Ends in Loss to Lancers
David Cordes’s 33rd minute header was all the scoring California Baptist needed in their 1-0 victory at San Jose State on Friday night.
The goal was set up by Luis Mueller’s corner kick. Cordes emerged from a crowd of Spartan defenders in front to goal to head the ball into the net from point blank range.
San Jose State goalkeeper David Sweeney made an excellent save in the 25th minute, when Lincoln Aquino’s cross set up Bryan Iliohan for a header from close range, but Sweeney leaped to redirect the ball over the crossbar.
California Baptist outshot the hosts by a 14-8 margin. Lancers goalkeeper Nolan Premack made 2 saves in keeping his fourth clean sheet of the season. He stopped a shot by Mario Barocio in the 11th minute and Beau Leroux in the 55th.
Second Half Goal Enables SJSU to Reclaim Second Place in WAC
The Spartans closed out the weekend with a 1-0 win over Utah Valley on Sunday afternoon.
Anthony Guzman scored the only goal of the match in the 49th minute. Beau Leroux’s through ball from the center circle found Guzman as he got behind the Utah Valley backline. Goalkeeper Landon Carter rushed out to challenge him, but Guzman slipped the ball underneath him and into the empty net.
Spartans’ goalkeeper David Sweeney was the man of the match, making several key saves in keeping the clean sheet. In the 55th minute, he made a diving stop on a blast from Easton Embley from 25 yards out. In the 84th minute, Alejandro Silva’s free kick curled over the Spartans’ wall, but Sweeney batted the ball away at the near post and also stopped a rebound attempt from Abel Mendoza.
Utah Valley was reduced to 10 men when Ben Ortiz was red carded at the 85 minute mark, but they kept pressing forward. And in the 89th minute, Sweeney made a final stop on a header from Carter Johnson.
