Sept. 22, 2006
STANFORD, Calif.- Senior Galen Thompson (Denver, Colo.) and junior Evan Morgan (Littleton, Colo.) each found the net during Stanford's 2-1 victory over San Diego State on Friday night at Maloney Field in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.
The Cardinal (3-4-2-, 1-0-0 Pac-10) led 1-0 at halftime, extended its lead to two goals early in the second half and relied on defense the rest of the way. The victory was Stanford's first home win of the season and first overall since a 1-0 shutout of UAB at the Stanford/Nike Invitational on Sept. 25, 2005.
Friday's performance against San Diego State (4-3-1, 0-1-0 Pac-10) represented quite a contrast from Stanford's recent home matches, which included two tough one-goal losses and a draw with Cal State Fullerton. Against the Aztecs, the Cardinal jumped out to an early lead and controlled tempo throughout the contest- much to the delight of the season-best 1,784 fans that consisted primarily of raucous students returning for the start of fall quarter next week.
Senior Galen Thompson (Denver, Colo.) scored his first goal of the year in the 31st minute to give Stanford an early 1-0 advantage. Following a free kick, Thompson perfectly struck a ball that curled past San Diego State reserve keeper Luis Trejo and found the back of the net.
Leading 1-0 at intermission with a 4-1 shot attempt edge, Stanford continued its offensive attack early in the second half. The Cardinal increased its lead to 2-0 in the 51st minute when Thompson crossed a pinpoint pass into junior Evan Morgan (Littleton, Colo.), who headed the ball in for his third goal of the season.
San Diego State's Evan Toft gave the Aztecs a glimmer of hope at the 70:21 mark, trapping a pass from Kevin Werbner and firing a shot by Cardinal netminder John Moore (Chino Hills, Calif.).
Moore registered three saves on the evening while lowering his GAA to 0.96 in six games.
Stanford outshot San Diego State 7-5. There were 26 combined fouls in the game, 14 by San Diego State.
The Cardinal faces its toughest test of the year on Sunday when No. 9 UCLA (4-3-1) visits Maloney Field for a 2:30 p.m. kick-off. The Bruins were upset 3-1 by No. 16 California in Berkeley on Friday.