Sept. 11, 2004
Stanford, Calif. - Sophomore Galen Thompson scored his first career goal with 10 minutes remaining in regulation to lift the Cardinal to a 1-0 victory over San Jose State at Maloney Field on Friday evening. With the victory, Stanford improves to 2-0-1, while the Spartans fall to 1-2-0.
The Cardinal attack came out strong to begin the game, as a Darren Fernandez shot hit the crossbar at the one-minute mark and the Stanford midfield created numerous chances in the early going. San Jose State had an early chance with 20 minutes gone, as the ball emerged out of crowd in front of Stanford's net and rolled along the Cardinal goal line before it was cleared out by goalkeeper Andrew Kartunen.
"I thought we were a little sluggish in the first half and were not playing with the intensity that San Jose State was," said head coach Bret Simon. "We didn't win balls and we weren't quite as sharp in the back as we had been in the first couple of games. We knew we had to improve in the second period if we wanted a good result."
The defensive struggle continued in the second half, as the two squads battled for control in the midfield and attempted to create offensive chances. With just under 11 minutes to play in regulation, junior Bronson McDonald brought the ball into the right side of the San Jose State box and crossed the ball to Fernandez, who in turn found Galen Thompson streaking into the left corner of the box. Thompson struck a powerful shot that beat Spartan goalkeeper Daniel Benton to his right and put the Cardinal ahead with 10:47 remaining in the game. Thompson nearly scored again at the end of the second period, hitting the crossbar with a shot in the 88th minute. The Stanford defense successfully held off an aggressive Spartan attack in the final moments of the match, turning away a number of San Jose State chances and preserving the 1-0 victory.
For Kartunen and the Cardinal defense, the contest marked its third straight shutout to begin the 2004 season. Kartunen made a pair of saves and the Stanford defense held the Spartans to just seven shots. Kartunen has not allowed a goal in 290 minutes in net this season.
The Cardinal out shot the Spartans by a 12-7 margin. In a very physical contest, Stanford was called for 23 fouls and the two squads combined for 39. Thompson led the Cardinal with three shots on the evening, while Matt Janusz and Aaron Maines each attempted a pair of shots.
Stanford will continue the Cal-Legacy Tournament in Berkeley on Sunday when they meet San Diego at 12 pm. The Toreros bring a 2-1-0 mark into the contest after falling to Cal by a 1-0 score on Friday.
| 1 | 2 | = | F | |
| San Jose State (1-2-0) | 0 | 0 | = | 0 |
| Stanford (2-0-1) | 0 | 1 | = | 1 |
Scoring Summary: STAN: Thompson (Fernandez, McDonald)
Saves: Kartunen (Stanford), 2; Benton (SJSU) 3
Shots: Stanford 12, SJSU 7
Corners: SJSU 2, Stnford 1
Fouls: Stanford 23, SJSU 16