Oct. 12, 2003
Stanford, Calif. - Will Flanagan's first goal of the season just before halftime at the 42:22 mark gave No. 8 Washington (8-1-2, 2-1-1 Pac-10) a 1-0 victory over Stanford (2-8-2, 0-3-0 Pac-10) in a Pac-10 game Sunday afternoon at Maloney Field. Washington snapped a two-game winless streak overall and a five-game losing streak versus the Cardinal dating back to the 2000 season, while Stanford dropped its third conference game in a row and has won just once in its last 11 games (1-8-2).
Stanford's Robby Fulton did move into the top spot on Stanford's all-time goals against average list during the game by surpassing the minimum career total of 2500 minutes needed to qualify. Fulton has a lifetime 0.52 GAA, allowing just 15 goals in 2573:29 minutes.
On the only goal of the game, Flanagan took a pass from Evan Cummings after a short corner kick by Jeff Hoover had started the sequence. Flanagan then dribbled near the top of the penalty box and took a shot that rolled through several players on both teams before finding its away into the lower left-hand corner of the net. Fulton appeared to have his vision shielded on the play.
The Huskies nearly added another goal just before the break but a shot by Casey Armstrong at 44:45 hit off the crossbar.
Stanford had a couple of opportunities to tie the contest late in the game but a shot by James Twellman at 87:07 sailed high and Marcus Ryan's header at 88:32 after a Cardinal corner kick was saved by Washington goalkeeper Danny Waltman. Twellman also nearly scored at 65:36 but Waltman dived to save his shot on the left post.
Twellman and Ryan both had a game-high-tying three shot attempts.
Waltman improved to 8-1-2 on the season, picking up four saves. Fulton (1-4-0) recorded three saves and took the loss.
Stanford outshot Washington 14-8, including an 8-3 advantage in the second half, to mark only the third time this season that the Cardinal has outshot its opponent.
"I'm pleased that our team came out with a great effort, enthusiasm and team spirit today after a discouraging loss against Oregon State on Friday," said Stanford head coach Bret Simon. "With all that said, you would think we would have been rewarded, but the game is sometimes cruel in that goals don't always happen as a result of chances."
Washington held a slim 6-4 advantage in corner kicks and committed 18 fouls to 12 for Stanford.The Huskies' victory broke the tie in its all-time series versus Stanford as Washington now leads 15-14-0.
The shutout marked the fifth time Stanford has been shutout this season and the second in a row. The Cardinal has managed just 10 goals through its first 12 games and has picked up more than one goal only once. The team's 0-3-0 start in the Pac-10 marks the first time the team has lost its first three conference games since the 1995 squad began with an 0-4-0 record in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
Stanford continues Pac-10 action at Fresno State next Friday, October 17 (7 pm, PT) and at No. 1 UCLA on Sunday, October 19 (1 pm, PT). The UCLA game will be televised by College Sports Television Network and shown on a tape-delayed basis Monday, October 20 (7 pm, PT), marking Stanford's first television appearance of the season.