STANFORD, Calif. – Every Stanford starter registered a stat on the score sheet, freshman Foster Langsdorf came off the bench to play his first career minutes and score his first career goal and the No. 19 Stanford men's soccer team used an utterly dominating performance to dispatch Gonzaga, 3-0, at Cagan Stadium on Friday night.
With the result, Stanford moved its record to 6-1, its best start since winning six of its first seven in 2009. It also finished the month of a September undefeated, something it hadn't done since 2001, and upped its home record to 6-0-2 in its last eight on The Farm, a run not seen since 2008-09. Stanford's 15 goals through its first seven games are its most since 2002 (23).
"We can be happy with the results we've had this season apart from the first game," Stanford head coach Jeremy Gunn said. "We're pleased with how we're forming as a team. Every coach is going to let you know there are always areas for improvement, but we're making progress and gearing up quite well. Now we move on to a new part of the season that's going to be another exciting challenge."
Conference play begins on the road for the Cardinal at No. 24 Oregon State (7-2-0) next Thursday, but tonight Stanford wrapped up its pre-Pac-12 slate in fine fashion. Every single starter had at least one shot, goal or assist and the Cardinal scored as many times as Gonzaga (1-6-0) had attempts. Not only was the final score line 3-0, but Stanford fired off 23 shots and put seven on frame, while the Bulldogs mustered just three and forced Andrew Epstein to make two saves.
Big wins on the Farm from @StanfordWVB and @StanfordMSoccer! #GoStanford
— Stanford Gymnastics (@StanfordWGym) September 27, 2014
Jordan Morris, who has been a giver of late assisting on three of his team's four goals last weekend, was the beneficiary of a beautiful set-up in the 31st minute. Bobby Edwards raced up the right flank and chipped the ball into the middle of the box where Morris' absurd athleticism shined. The sophomore out-jumped everyone and knocked a one-hop header into the goal for Stanford's first tally.
Coming out of the break, Tomas Hilliard-Arce followed suit and made another Maples-esque play. Austin Meyer took the far corner and served into onto the head of the freshman, who easily cleared his surrounding defenders by a handful of inches to put Stanford up, 2-0. Both the defender's scores in 2014 have come off of set pieces.
"Games go in different ways and Gonzaga chose to sit off, which gave us possession of the ball," Gunn commented. "I think we're good enough in possession to break teams down. Sometimes when a team does that in can really frustrate you, but we did well given the opportunity to look after the ball."
Foster Langsdorf capped the night with his first career goal just over 30 minutes into his collegiate debut. A pair of seniors, Bobby Edwards and Jimmy Callinan, showed the young man the path as Edwards led Callinan to the near corner, who lofted it into the box for Langsdorf. The Vancouver, Wash. and Portland Timbers Academy product split his defenders a beat Gonzaga's keeper to his right just into the 68th minute.
The freshman had five shots, put three on frame and scored the one in 41 minutes of action.
"I thought he was brilliant tonight," Gunn said of Langsdorf. "We've talked about having more strength and depth this year and Foster is a good example of that. He's someone who hadn't had minutes yet this season, but came on and had a tremendous performance. I'm really pleased for him. It shows the rest of the squad there are lots of opportunities for people to take advantage of."
Langsdorf became the ninth different player to score for the Cardinal thus far, and one of five who have tallied their first career goal in the early going, joining Corey Baird, Slater Meehan, Marshall Glover and Hilliard-Arce. Stanford is the only Pac-12 school that can boast such a large of a number of varied goal scorers. Oregon State is next with eight.
Stanford begins its conference schedule in the Pacific Northwest when it travels to Corvallis on Thursday, Oct. 2 (7 p.m.) and Seattle on Sunday, Oct. 5 (5 p.m.). The match against the No. 6 Huskies (6-1-0) will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.