#5 Stanford
Cardinal Earn Draw with #1 Washington
The Cardinal celebrated Senior Day with a thrilling 3-3 draw with #1 Washington in front of a sellout crowd at Cagan Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Stanford opened the scoring in the 21st minute on a goal by Shane de Flores. Cam Cilley made a run into the crowded penalty area. His pass was deflected by a Washington defender, but went straight to Carlo Agostinelli for a shot attempt from the right side. Goalkeeper Jadon Bowton made a diving save, but de Flores was there to pounce on the rebound.
Two minutes later, the Huskies evened the score when a foul was called on Stanford’s Will Cleary for holding Lucas Meek in the penalty area. Gio Miglietti scored on the subsequent penalty kick.
The Cardinal responded in the 26th minute on Connor Evans’ first career goal. Cilley intercepted a pass 30 yards from goal and fed the ball to Jackson Kiil as he made his run toward the penalty area. Kiil fed the ball to an unmarked Evans, who paused, then fired a shot that beat Bowton at the near post.
But the Huskies drew even again in the 35th minute with goal on a direct free kick from near the touch line by Imanol Rosales. The in-swinger eluded a pair of Cardinal defenders in front of goal and settled just inside the far post.
There were fewer chances in the second half, but Washington appeared to be headed for victory when they took the lead in the 70th minute on Miglietti’s second goal of the match. Lucas Meek was awarded a free kick from 25 yards out. Chris Meyers took the kick and sent the ball into the box. Miglietti got behind the Cardinal backline and redirected the ball into the net from point blank range.
But the Cardinal drew even again in the 79th minute, when senior Keegan Hughes headed home an Agostinelli corner kick.
There was only one shot in the final 10 minutes of the match, a shot by Washington’s Ilijah Paul that requiring a diving stop by Frank.
Beavers Top Cardinal in Tightly Contested Match
A Stanford own goal in the 83rd minute goal propelled Oregon State to a 2-1 win over the Cardinal on Thursday night.
Oregon State’s Gael Gibert made a run down the left touchline and sent in a cross that Clarence Awoudor redirected toward the goal. Goalkeeper Matt Frank was unable to reach it, and the ball deflected off of the foot of Stanford defender Noah Adnan and into the net.
The Cardinal had taken the lead in the 12th minute, when Mouhameth Thiam fouled a Cardinal attacker in the box, and Cam Cilley scored on the subsequent penalty kick.
Gibert evened the match on a penalty kick in the 55th minute, when Frank dived to his left and Gibert’s low shot went into the right corner.
The Beavers also came close in the 75th minute, when a header from Ellis Spikner hit the crossbar and bounced straight downward, enabling the Cardinal to make the clearance.
After the Beavers took the lead, the Cardinal were only able to get off 1 more shot, an off-target effort from Noah Adnan in the 86th minute.
The match was very even overall, with both sides taking 7 shots, 2 on goal, and both goalkeepers making 1 save.
Cal (3-7-6, 1-5-3)
Oregon State Match Ends in Another 1-1 Draw
Sunday afternoon’s match between the Golden Bears and the Beavers ended in a 1-1 draw. The clubs’ previous match on October 6 also ended with the same scoreline.
The best save of the match came in the 22nd minute, when Oregon State goalkeeper Luis Castillo dove to the turf to snag an on-target shot that Wyatt Meyer had redirected with his chest.
The visitors took the lead in two minutes later when Mouhameth Thiam scored on a penalty kick.
Cal had a man advantage for the final 59 minutes of the match, after Castillo was red carded for taking down Nonso Adimabua to prevent him from scoring on a breakaway. The play was set up by Wyatt Meyer’s free kick from Cal’s defensive zone.
After the ejection, Oregon State dropped back into a defensive posture, enabling Cal to outshoot the Beavers by a 13-2 margin in the second half, and 19-6 overall.
The Golden Bears were able to tie the match in the 59th minute, when Adimabua’s shot from 20 yards out beat backup goalkeeper Jesus Sanchez.
With less than a minute remaining, Cal gained a two-man advantage when Adria Capdevila was red carded for a hard tackle on Cal’s Juan Martinez. But the Bears were unable to generate any scoring opportunities in the final moments of the match.
#1 Washington Escapes with Last Second Win
The Golden Bears’ defense stood up to the challenge of facing the #1 team in the country, but a goal in the waning seconds enabled Washington to escape with a 2-1 victory at Edwards Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
Ilijah Paul scored with 9 seconds remaining, as the P.A. announcer began counting down to the final whistle. Gabe Threadgold grabbed a loose ball along the right sideline and sent in a cross. Paul took a step backward to elude a pair of Cal defenders and headed it into the left corner of the net.
The Huskies scored first, in the 32nd minute, Chris Meyers sent the corner kick into a crowd of players at the near post. The ball bounced around until Nick Scardina was able to poke it in.
The Bears got back into the match in the 35th minute, when Adrian Guzman was taken down on a hard foul in the box by the Huskies’ Christian Soto. Fahmi Ibrahim converted the penalty kick.
The Huskies outshot the Golden Bears 22-9 for the game, but they had only a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. Goalkeeper Collin Travasos made three saves to keep Cal in the match.
Santa Clara at USF
The Broncos jumped out to a three-goal lead in the first half and coasted to a 3-1 win at USF on Wednesday evening.
Santa Clara’s Oladayo Thomas opened the scoring in the 18th minute. James Redington made a run along the endline and deked a USF defender as goalkeeper Eric Waltz came out to cut down his shooting angle. Redington sent a short pass to Thomas, who fired a shot from just beyond the six-yard box as a USF defender tried in vain to deflect it away.
The Broncos added another in the 33rd minute, when Caden Buckley headed the ball into the path of Bar Hazut for a one-timer that took a couple of bounces and beat Waltz at the near post.
Eduardo Lopez Perez wrapped up an ideal first half for the Broncos by scoring in the 36th minute. Thomas made a run toward the penalty area, drawing a crowd of Dons’ defenders. He laid the ball off for Lopez Perez, who shifted the ball to his right foot and blasted a shot that Waltz got a finger on, but could not deflect away.
The Dons edged closer in the 60th minute on a two-man game between Max Hamelink and Andri Jonasson. Hamelink laid the ball off for Jonasson, who then returned it to Hamelink at the edge of the 6-yard box. Hamelink’s shot from close range deflected off of a Santa Clara defender and went over the head of goalkeeper Felix Schaefer.
Schaefer made 4 saves in the final 30 minutes of the match to enable Santa Clara to return home with a victory.
Pacific at USF (7-5-3, 0-4-1)
A pair of second half goals enabled Pacific to earn a 2-0 win at USF on Saturday night. The Dons outshot the Tigers 16-12, including a 14-4 advantage in the second half.
Derick Roque scored in the 49th minute and Emory Rapaport added another 9 minutes later.
USF goalkeeper Eric Waltz was under pressure all evening and was credited with 4 saves, including a shot from point blank range on a breakaway from Cooper Riley in the 31st minute and a diving stop on a free kick from Ryan Her in the 81st minute.
Pacific goalkeeper Eric Cotton had 6 saves and recorded his first shutout of the season.
Loyola Marymount at Santa Clara (4-4-5, 1-1-3)
The Broncos scored a late goal on their only shot on goal in the match to earn a 1-1 draw with visiting Loyola Marymount on Saturday night. The Lions outshot the Broncos 17-4 in the match, which was Santa Clara’s third in the past eight days.
Marco Byers-Mora gave LMU the lead in the 41st minute. Christian Ortiz made a run along the right edge of the penalty area, took a couple of steps into the box, and fired a short cross to Byers-Mora for the tap-in from close range.
The Broncos’ goal came in the 79th minute. James Redington fed the ball to Oladayo Thomas with his back to the goal at the top of the penalty area. Thomas trapped the ball, switched the ball to his right foot by lifting the ball over the defender’s head, and hit a one-timer that deflected off of an LMU defender, giving goalkeeper Mitchell Wilson no chance.
The Lions turned up the pressure after the goal, but were unable the score the game-winner. Their chances included an 86th minute attempt from Anthony Wilson, off of a cross by Noel Caliskan, a one-timer from Gianluca Arcangeli that hit the crossbar in the 88th minute, and shot attempt from Corbin Mercado at the back post 35 seconds before the final whistle that sailed over the bar.
Santa Clara goalkeeper Felix Schaefer was credited with 5 saves, including 4 in the first half.
Saint Mary’s (6-6-4, 1-1-3)
No Goals Again in Moraga
The Gaels outshot the Zags 24-11, but Gonzaga’s visit to Moraga ended in a scoreless draw on Saturday afternoon. It was Saint Mary’s third scoreless draw in their last four matches.
Saint Mary’s goalkeeper Kash Oladapo made 3 saves, including a shot from point blank range by Frankie Ljucovic in the 81st minute and a shot from Diego Domenech in the 90th.
Saint Mary’s had the best chances, but none were on target, including a 23rd minute attempt from Luke Lawrence that deflected off of the intersection between the crossbar and the post. Riley Lynch barely missed on shots in the 49th and 54th minute. Bastian Toelhoej had an open look in the 50th minute, but shot went wide left.
Gonzaga goalkeeper Johan Garibay made 6 saves, matching his season high.
Gaels Earn First WCC Win at Pacific
A first half scoring barrage enabled the Gaels to secure a 3-1 win at Pacific on Wednesday night.
Saint Mary’s scored the first goal of the match at the 24 second mark on Wade Muttitt’s one-timer from just inside the penalty area. Boyd Curry set up the goal with a long pass from the Gaels’ half that found Curry make his run down the right side.
The Tigers equalized in the 20th minute on a goal by Cory Johnson after a quick buildup down the middle. Samuel Villalta delivered a through ball to Johnson, who immediately pushed it forward to Derick Roque, who made a run along the left side, cut back to elude a Saint Mary’s defender, and delivered a short cross to Johnson for the left-footed tap-in.
Saint Mary’s grabbed the lead back 82 seconds later. It began with a long throw-in from Christian Engmann. A Tiger defender tried to head the ball out of danger, but it ended up on the foot of Tyler Hardin, whose blast went over a crowd of players and settled in just under the crossbar.
Muttit closed out the scoring in the 31st minute. He stole the ball from a Tigers defender 35 yards from goal, raced into the penalty area. Goalkeeper Eric Cotton and a Tiger defender rushed over to cover, but Muttit’s low blast was out of Cotton’s reach.
The second half was scoreless, even though the hosts took 9 shots and Saint Mary’s responded with 8. Cotton made 4 saves to keep the game within reach.
San Jose State (8-5-3, 4-2-2)
One Goal is Enough for Grand Canyon
The Spartans wrapped up their toughest road trip of the season with a 1-0 loss at Grand Canyon on Sunday afternoon. San Jose State and Grand Canyon are now tied for third place in the WAC, with one match remaining before the conference tournament.
Cameron Weller scored the only goal of the match in the 41st minute on a quick counterattack. The Lopes’ Alec LaBarge passed the ball over the midfield line to Shaun Joash, who immediately turned and relayed the ball into the open space as Bright Nutornutsi made his run down the left sideline. Nutornutsi sent a slow rolling cross to Weller, whose shot threaded the needle between a pair of Spartan defenders and trickled past goalkeeper David Sweeney.
Lopes’ goalkeeper Leon Schmidt was credited with 5 saves in the match. Sweeney made 2 saves for the Spartans.
Next week’s matches will decide the top two seeds who will earn first round byes in the conference tournament. Current top seed Air Force travels to play Grand Canyon and San Jose State hosts the current second seed, Seattle University.
Late Air Force Goal Denies the Spartans a Key Road Win
The Spartans came tantalizingly close to knocking off the first place team in the Western Athletic Conference on Friday night, but host Air Force equalized in the 88th minute to earn a 1-1 draw.
San Jose State scored their goal in the 27th minute on an impressive team buildup, connecting on 9 consecutive short passes. The sequence culminated when Herminio Padilla received a return pass from Isaac Lomeli as he made his run into the penalty area. Padilla then dished the ball off to Joel Garcia on the right side. Garcia’s quick finish was unstoppable.
The Falcons’ goal came on a set piece. Jake Angeletti took the corner kick. Tyler Johnson timed his jump perfectly to head the ball into the net, in spite of a challenge from Spartan defender Kasper Poulsgaard.
Over the 90 minutes, Air Force outshot the Spartans 12-4. San Jose State goalkeeper David Sweeney was credited with making 4 saves, including a diving stop on a shot by Thaddaeus Dewing in the 33rd minute.
A team effort by the Spartans shut down an Air Force breakaway in the 73rd minute. Josh Redfield poked the ball away from Jacob Angeletti and Sweeney rushed out to the edge of the penalty area to grab the ball away from a pair of Air Force attackers.
In the end, the Spartans had to settle denying Air Force a perfect conference record, after the Falcons had won their first 6 matches of the season.
