Oct. 17, 2003
Fresno, Calif. - Fresno State (4-8-0, 1-3-0) handed Stanford its fourth consecutive Pac-10 loss and its third straight shutout with a 2-0 victory over the Cardinal on Friday at Bulldog Stadium. The teams were locked in a scoreless tie before Jermiah Leroy converted a penalty kick at 61:04. Ernie Vega gave Fresno State, which snapped a three-game losing skid, an insurance goal when he connected on a free kick from 20 yards out at 71:14.
"It was a tough day all around," said Stanford head coach Bret Simon. "We didn't come with our `A' game but didn't have much luck either."
Stanford's Darren Fernandez nearly put the Cardinal ahead late in the first half but his header at 41:04 hit off the crossbar.
Fresno State outshot Stanford, 14-4, while the Cardinal held a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.
Fresno State goalkeeper Eric Kronberg (4-8-0) picked up the victory and recorded a shutout without recording a save, while Stanford's Robby Fulton (1-5-0) picked up the loss despite four saves. Stanford also collected one team save.
Vega and Fresno State teammate Mat Herold each took a game-high three shots. Stanford did not have a player take multiple shots as Fernandez, Abe Gieger, Matt Jansuz and Bronson McDonald attempted one each.
The game was marred by five yellow cards with Fresno State collecting three and the Cardinal two. Stanford was called for 14 fouls, while the Bulldogs were whistled on 13 occasions.
Stanford had been unbeaten in its last three meetings with Fresno State with the last Bulldog victory in the series coming with a 2-1 decision in Fresno on October 13, 1995.
The Cardinal has now won just once in its last 12 games (1-9-2). The shutout also marked the sixth time Stanford has been shutout this season. The Cardinal has managed just 10 goals through its first 13 games and has picked up more than one goal only once. The team's 0-4-0 start in the Pac-10 marks the first time the team has lost its first four conference games since the 1995 squad began with an 0-4-0 record in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
Stanford will continue its current road trip at top-ranked UCLA (11-1-0, 4-0-0 Pac-10) this Sunday, October 19 (1 pm, PT). The game will be televised by CSTV and shown tape-delayed on Monday, October 20 (7:30 pm, PT), marking Stanford's first television appearance this season.