Sept. 30, 2012
STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford got back to its winning ways Sunday, defeating San Diego State 2-0 at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. The Cardinal dominated play and persevered on a hot day to improve of 4-5-0 and even its record at 1-1 in Pac-12 play.
"There were so many impressive things about today," said head coach Jeremy Gunn. "Our attitude from the kickoff was perfect. We were energetic, creating chances and putting San Diego State under immense pressure."
"It was hot out there and it was our second game of the weekend, so it would be easy to make excuses. Our guys just showed how fit and strong they are with the way they played with so much energy."
Stanford jumped out the gates, creating numerous chances in the opening minutes. Bobby Edwards nearly scored just 1:39 into play, but Tim Peitsch made the save.
In all, Stanford had six shots in the first 11 minutes and all were dangerous chances. Ty Thompson had one shot blocked and another sail wide, while Adam Jahn and Tyler Conklin also had chances.
Overall, Stanford outshot the Aztecs 14-2 in the half, but it wasn't until the 41st minute that the Cardinal found a goal. The goal came on a short corner when Eric Verso played the ball to Austin Meyer. Meyer then held the ball, while Verso circled around him into a position to shoot from. His shot was low to the far post and Peitsch was shielded and unable to make the save.
It was the first goal of Verso's Stanford career, while Meyer picked up his team-leading third assist of the season.
After the half, San Diego State picked up its play, but the Cardinal still controlled the tempo and was the more dangerous team.
In the 52nd minute, Thompson played a perfect corner and JJ Koval won the header, but his shot went high.
The most dangerous chance came from Eric Anderson as he carried his dribble towards goal, but his near-post shot was saved by Peitsch.
The longer the half went with Stanford just up by one, San Diego State gained hope. The Aztecs made the game scrappy and looked for the break to give them the equalizer.
However, Stanford put the game out of reach late when Zach Batteer scored in the 88th minute. Batteer won a ball in the box, made a half turn and shot low and in the corner. It was a clinical finish for the sophomore that put the game out of reach.
"There were lots of good performances today," said Gunn. "I was just really pleased with the performance of the team."
The win evened up Stanford's record in conference play with a big game against California next week. The Cardinal hopes to beat its archrival to finish of the stretch of six-straight home games.