Sept. 18, 2004
Fullerton, Calif. - Senior Darren Fernandez continued his torrid scoring pace, netting two goals to lead Stanford to a 2-0 win over UC Irvine in the opening game of the SoccerTown Classic in Fullerton. The Cardinal defense posted its fifth straight shutout to begin the 2004 campaign and Stanford improves to 4-0-1, while the Anteaters fall to 2-3-0.
It didn't take long for Stanford to get on the board, as Fernandez collected a Michael Brown chip inside the UC Irvine box just 27 seconds into the match. Fernandez found himself one-on-one with Anteater goalkeeper Ryan Mathy and tallied his first goal of the game with a shot from 15 yards out. Fernandez capped the scoring with less than five minutes left in regulation, dribbling through the UC Irvine defense and striking a curling shot into the upper right corner of the net.
The Anteaters out-shot the Cardinal by a 6-4 margin, but the Stanford defense was superb once again, notching the shutout behind three saves from sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Kartunen. The Cardinal has posted five straight shutouts to begin the season, just one clean sheet shy of the program record six registered to begin the 2000 campaign.
Fernandez attempted three of Stanford's four shots on the night, and UC Irvine's Brad Evans led all players with four shot attempts.
Stanford concludes the SoccerTown Classic against host Cal State Fullerton at 7:00 pm on Sunday.
| 1 | 2 | = | F | |
| UC Irvine (2-3-0) | 0 | 0 | = | 0 |
| Stanford (4-0-1) | 1 | 1 | = | 2 |
Scoring Summary: STAN: Fernandez (Brown) 00:27; Fernandez (unassisted) 85:12
Saves: Kartunen (Stanford), 3; Mathy (UC Irvine) 1
Shots: UC Irvine 6, Stanford 4
Corners: UC Irvine 3, Stanford 3
Fouls: UC Irvine 13, Stanford 12