Nov. 2, 2007
The men's soccer team (5-4-5, 2-2-2 Pac-10) defeated UCLA (8-7-2, 4-3-1 Pac-10) by a score of 2-1 this evening in front of 1,112 fans at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. The Cardinal outshot the Bruins 13 to seven, while Cardinal keeper John Moore made two saves to preserve the one goal victory.
The Cardinal came out firing in the first half as they attempted three shots in the first nine minutes, with two of them on goal. Kyle Hency booted a shot in the fifth minute, but Bruin keeper Brian Perk was in position to make the save. Five minutes later, it was Thiago Sa Freire firing a shot from the left side of the box, but once again Perk was there to make the save. UCLA had a good look at the goal in the 23rd minute as David Estrada had an open breakaway. Stanford keeper Moore was able to sprint out and deflect the ball away to spoil the Bruin scoring chance. Bobby Warshaw controlled the middle of the field for most of the first half, creating great opportunities the forwards running onto the ball. In the 43rd minute it was Warshaw who found himself with a prime scoring chance. Warshaw found the ball at his feet after a deflection inside the UCLA box and blasted a shot past the crowd of defenders into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season. The half ended with Stanford holding a 1-0 advantage after outshooting UCLA six to two.
Stanford got started quickly once again in the second half as they scored their second goal of them game after just over three minutes had expired. Sa Freire flicked the ball over the head of the UCLA defender into the possession of Hency who carried the ball to just outside the box and lobbed it over the charging goalkeepers head for his second goal of the season, giving Stanford a 2-0 lead. The half continued and was evenly played as both teams had good looks at the goal. UCLA caught a break when the ball was stolen from a Cardinal defender by Maxwell Griffin who raced into the left side of the box and scored on a shot into the right side corner of the net, brining the Bruins to within just one. Stanford focused on preserving the one goal lead late in the game, as UCLA pressed forward on offense looking for the game tying goal. Michael Stephens of UCLA attempted a shot in the 78th minute, but the ball was deflected by a Stanford defender. UCLA was unable to crack the Cardinal defense as the game ended with a 2-1 victory for Stanford.
Stanford returns to action on Sunday, November 4 at 2:30 p.m. as they host San Diego State at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. An autograph session by the Cardinal players will follow immediately after the game.