Oct. 17, 2010
Stanford, Calif. - Stanford earned a tough 1-0 victory over San Diego State on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Cagan Stadium. Cameron Lamming ended a scoreless tie in the 78th minute to put Stanford over .500 for the first time this season and in the thick of the Pac-10 race.
The Cardinal earned its fifth shutout of the season with some outstanding defending and goalkeeping.
"I thought our defensive effort was top notch," said head coach Bret Simon. "San Diego State is one of the best teams we have faced on the ball, so shutting them out was a great accomplishment."
Galen Perkins was again terrific in goal, making six saves. Perkins is allowing just 0.72 goals per game since taking over for an injured Jason Dodson. He has made 23 saves in just four games, earning three wins.
The Aztecs outshot Stanford 5-3 in the first half as the Cardinal had trouble with the offside trap, being caught eight different times in the period.
The Cardinal made adjustments at halftime and were caught only twice in the second half. This led to more scoring opportunities for Stanford with Adam Jahn hitting a post and Dominique Yahyavi creating a one-on-one with the keeper, only to shoot high.
The Cardinal goal finally came in the 78th minute off a corner kick. Clayton Holz, who had just subbed into the game, sent a perfect bending ball into the box to the head of Lamming. Lamming buried the header into the top corner for his first goal of the season.
It was the second time Lamming had been free on a corner, but after heading a ball wide in the first half, Lamming did not miss. It was the third goal of his career and his second game-winner.
The Stanford win and a UCLA overtime win over California has put the top three teams in the Pac-10 all within one game. UCLA and Cal are both 4-1, while the Cardinal improves to 3-2 at the halfway point in the Pac-10 season.
The win also moves Stanford above .500 for the first time this year at 7-6-0. The Cardinal are now 7-2-0 since its 0-4 start and continue to build momentum.
"We've put ourselves in a position to be in the hunt for the NCAA tournament," said Simon. "That is where we want to end up."
The Cardinal will now head to Southern California for rematches with UCLA and San Diego State. The Cardinal had not swept the home weekend with the SoCal teams since 2007 and has never done it on the road with the Aztecs entering the Pac-10 in 2005. The UCLA game will be Friday at 7:00pm and San Diego State will be Sunday at 1:00pm.