Sept. 30, 2011
SAN DIEGO - Stanford began Pac-12 play with a tough result, losing 1-0 to San Diego State at the SDSU Sports Deck. The two teams played a scoreless first half, before the Aztecs scored the game's only goal in the 52nd minute and hung on for the victory.
The game went to the half scoreless with each team taking four shots and four corners. Perhaps the best chance for the Cardinal came in the 28th minute when Alexander Binnie ripped a shot from the left side that forced San Diego State goalkeeper Blake Hylen into a diving save.
Moments later, Binnie sent a corner into the box that found the head of JJ Koval, but his shot was blocked. Stanford took four corners within two minutes of each other, but could not convert.
Stanford came out strong in the second half with Adam Jahn immediately testing Hylen with a shot on goal. The burst was short-lived, however as San Diego State took the lead in the 52nd minute. Ata Ozbay ripped a shot from 25 yards that beat Jason Dodson and the Aztecs had what would end up being the game winner.
After losing momentum early in the second half, Stanford came on late with an offensive flurry, totaling 11 shots in the half.
In the 85th minute, Jahn stood over a free kick and fired to the upper right corner that hit the crossbar. Garrett Gunther was there for the rebound, but his shot went wide.
In the final moments, Stanford had a couple of close calls. Zach Batteer had one of his four shots on goal, but his shot was saved by Hylen. Gunther had a similar chance, but again his shot was saved.
Despite the late flurry, the Cardinal were held scoreless and dropped to 3-5-1 and 0-1-0 in the Pac-12. The Cardinal will continue with its Southern California swing with another tough game on Sunday, this time against No. 25 UCLA. The game is set to kickoff at 3pm as the Cardinal try to even its conference record and bring home a respectable road split.