The fifth seeded Cardinal’s season came to a sudden end in the third round of the NCAA tournament with a 3-1 loss to #12 UNC Greensboro, after the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
UNC Greensboro was the aggressor early in the match, earning 5 corner kicks, while the Cardinal responded with a pair of shots from Carlo Agostinelli and Cam Cilley.
The visitors had a great scoring chance in the 17th minute that required Stanford goalkeeper Matt Frank to make a leaping save on a shot from Ismail El Harchi.
And the Spartans opened the scoring four minutes later, on a goal by Marco Alfonso. Stanford’s Keegan Tingey broke up J.C. Ngando’s run down the right sideline, but Tingey’s back heel went right back to Ngando, who burst into the open space between Tingey and another Cardinal defender. He cut the ball back to Alfonso for a one-timer that left Frank with no chance.
Tingey set up Stanford’s equalizer in the 26th minute. His attempted cross bounced off of a Spartan defender, so Tingey grabbed the rebound and laid the ball off for Cilley, who stepped up to the ball and released a left-footed blast from just outside the penalty area that tucked inside the far post.
The Cardinal were the stronger side throughout the remainder of the match, with a 9-3 edge in shots over the first 90 minutes and a 3-0 edge in the two overtime periods. Goalkeeper Niclas Wild was tested twice in the extra sessions, stopping shots by Jackson Kiil in the 98th minute and Shane de Flores 10 minutes later.
The visitors changed goalkeepers for the shootout, bringing in Isaac Briner. The move immediately paid dividends, as Briner saved each of the first three Cardinal penalties.
Meanwhile, UNC Greensboro had taken the lead in the shootout when Basile Marc converted their first shot attempt and Ethan Conley converted their third. Stanford’s Connor Evans made the fourth attempt to keep the Cardinal’s hopes alive, but Emmanuel Hagan ended the match by placing the ball up the middle after Frank committed to his right.
