Sept. 26, 2003
Fairleigh Dickinson-Stanford Box Score
California-UC Irvine Box Score
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 3, STANFORD 1
Stanford, Calif. - No. 24 Fairleigh Dickinson (4-1-1) spoiled the home opener for Stanford (1-5-1) with a 3-1 victory over the Cardinal in the first meeting ever between the teams on the opening day of the Stanford/Nike Invitational at Maloney Field on Friday. Fairleigh Dickinson extended its win streak to three and its unbeaten string to five, while the Cardinal remained winless for the sixth straight contest. Stanford held a 14-3 advantage in shots, outshooting an opponent for the first time this season, but the Knights scored on all three of their attempts.
"I'm proud of our team for continuing to fight hard," said Stanford head coach Bret Simon. "But, the shot totals can be deceiving. The three chances that we gave them were great chances where they found holes in our defense. There is some consolation in that we were applying some pressure against a very good defense but that wasn't good enough."
The Knights scored twice in the first half as Antonio Nunziata contributed a goal and an assist. Nunziata scored with a shot into the near post just 4:27 into the contest on an assist by Mirza Rusevic as Fairleigh Dickinson jumped out to a quick 1-0 advantage. Nunziata then assisted on a goal at 31:41 by Johnny David that nearly copied Nunziata's first score to put the Knights ahead at halftime, 2-0.
Fairleigh Dickinson added another goal when Nadav Gottesman scored at 56:57 the second assist of the game for Rusevic.
Stanford avoided being shutout for the third straight game when Sean Whalen scored his first goal of the season and the second of his career at 84:51 with Todd Leber assisting on a goal for the second time in his career.
Stanford had a couple other excellent opportunities in the game but Fairleigh Dickinson goalkeeper Andrew Nucifora (4-1-1), who came into the contest with an 0.37 GAA, left his feet on shots by Marcus Ryan at 16:32 and Darren Fernandez at 77:58 to deny the Cardinal.
"Each time we tried to dig ourselves out of a hole, (Andrew) Nucifora seemed to make a big play or their defense made a saving tackle," explained Simon.
Andrew Kartunen (0-3-1) played the entire game in goal for the Cardinal but did record a save.Stanford finished with a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Both teams substituted heavily in the waning moments of the contest with the Cardinal making six subs at 79:22 and the Knights three in the final eight minutes.
Stanford's 1-5-1 record equals its worst start since 1994 when the team began the season with the same mark.
Stanford will meet UC Irvine, a 1-0 winner over California in Friday's tournament opener, in the Stanford/Nike Invitational finale on Sunday, September 28 (2:30 pm, PT). Fairleigh Dickinson will face California on Sunday to open the second day of tournament action (12 pm, PT).
UC IRVINE 1, CALIFORNIA 0
Stanford, Calif. - UC Irvine (3-5-0) snapped a five-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory over California (3-4-1) in the opening game of the 2003 Stanford/Nike Invitational on Friday evening at Maloney Field. Sebastian Galmarini headed in a cross from David Yemane for the only goal of the game at 67:58. The Golden Bears, who had a four-game unbeaten streak snapped, took the final four shots of the contest but were unable to score.
UC Irvine goalkeeper Ryan Mathy picked up six saves to earn the victory, while California keeper Mike Oseguera stopped five Anteater shots. California outshot UC Irvine, 18-8, for the contest and held an 11-2 shot advantage in the first half.
California's Mike Munoz attempted a game-high six shots and had an opportunity to tie the score late in the game but missed wide left on a shot from about 10 yards in front of the goal.Galmarini's four shots off the bench led UC Irvine.
UC Irvine held a slight 8-6 advantage in corner kicks.
California will meet Fairleigh Dickinson, a 3-1 winner over Stanford in Friday's second contest, to open the second day of action at the Stanford/Nike Invitational on Sunday, September 28 (12 pm, PT). UC Irvine and Stanford will square off in Sunday's tournament finale (2:30 pm, PT).