Sept. 16, 2012
STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford fell behind early, fought back, but eventually fell 2-1 to Santa Clara on Sunday night at Cagan Stadium. After spotting the Broncos two goals, the Cardinal were on the verge of tying things up late in the game, but could not find the equalizer.
"I was really disappointed how we were outcompeted at the beginning of the game," said head coach Jeremy Gunn. "Give credit to Santa Clara, they were sharper to the ball early on. They won firsts, they won seconds and they scored a couple of really good goals."
Ryan Masch handled the scoring for Santa Clara, finishing a pair of first-half goals. His first goal came in just the fourth minute on a cracking volley, while the second was a chip over the goalkeeper in the 35th minute.
Stanford outshot Santa Clara 11-7 in the half, but still trailed by two.
The Cardinal rallied in the second half, coming out with renewed energy and focus. The home team dominated the run of play, outshooting Santa Clara, 13-2.
"I give the guys full marks for fighting back after being down two goals," said Gunn.
Stanford had countless second half chances, but Santa Clara goalkeeper Larry Jackson was tremendous, making eight saves.
Adam Jahn finally got Stanford on the board in the 75th minute as he scored his fourth goal of the season. Jahn clinically took a ball of his chest in the box, brought it to his feet and shot low and in the corner. Wednesday's hero, Austin Meyer provided the pass and was credited with the assist.
"I am really happy with how we outplayed our opponent in the second half and had so many great chances," said Gunn. "The simple lesson is that we have to start the game in the right fashion and we didn't do that tonight."
The loss drops Stanford to 3-3-0 with four more in a row at home. Next up is Loyola Marymount on Friday, Sept. 16, at 4 p.m. The game will be the first Stanford men's game to be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.