SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Stanford sophomore Corey Baird scored his first two goals of the season, Jordan Morris added a tally for the fifth consecutive game and the No. 3 Cardinal tacked another win to its sterling record, this time beating San Diego State 3-1 on Sunday afternoon.
The win extended Stanford's unbeaten streak to 12 matches, the second-longest stretch in program history. Coupled with Friday's victory at UCLA, it's the first time the Cardinal (11-1-1, 4-0-1 Pac-12) has earned six points on a conference road weekend since 2006 when it defeated both Washington (Oct. 6) and Oregon State (Oct. 8) by 2-0 score lines.
Stanford is back home on Friday, Oct. 23 (8 p.m.) when it hosts UCLA at Cagan Stadium. The Cardinal is 6-0-1 on The Farm this season and 15-1-5 in its last 21 at home. Tickets are available by visiting gostanford.com/tickets.
TURNING POINT » Stanford found itself down early after Jeroen Meefout caught the Cardinal cold scoring on a misplayed clearance in the second minute. Eight minutes later Jordan Morris responded. Brandon Vincent controlled it and slipped it out wide to Corey Baird. Baird clipped a ball in behind to Morris, who coolly slotted it past Adam Allmaras to even the score. From that point on it was all Cardinal.
MORE MORRIS » Morris keeps dominating every time he puts on a Stanford shirt. The junior, who has missed four matches this season due to U.S. Soccer responsibilities, has scored a goal in each of his last five games with the Cardinal. He's already matched a single-season career high with six goals in just nine games in 2015 (0.67 goals per game). As a freshman in 2013 he scored that many in 21 appearances.
BAIRD BAGS TWO » Sophomore Corey Baird, who has been one of the best facilitators in the country this season, finally got on the board against San Diego State. He scored his first of the year 45 seconds after assisting Morris. Vincent put a ball through to Morris, who got around his man and pulled the ball back for Baird. Baird buried it from in close near the penalty spot to put Stanford on top, 2-1.
BAIRD AGAIN » In the 55th, Eric Verso got the ball wide on the right, cut in and slipped it to Ty Thompson. Stanford's senior captain set it back for Baird, who hit it with the inside of his right foot and deposited his chance to the top right corner.
BAIRD'S BRACE » It's the second brace of the season for Stanford and the second of Baird's young career. He also scored two in the Cardinal's 2-2 draw at then-No. 1 UCLA in Westwood last Oct. 30. Fellow sophomore Tomas Hilliard-Arce accounted for a pair of Stanford's goals in its 3-1 victory over San Francisco on Sept. 18 this season.
KEEP ROLLING » The win, Stanford's 11th in its past 12 matches, also extended that team's unbeaten streak to 12. The Cardinal has only had one better run in program history, when it went 20 straight without a loss from Oct. 25, 1996 to Oct. 26, 1997.
SIX POINTS » Stanford, which Friday earned its first win at UCLA, racked up six points on a conference road trip for the first time since 2006. That season, the Cardinal beat both Washington (Oct. 6) and Oregon State (Oct. 8) on the road by 2-0 scores.
LONG TIME COMING » The Cardinal has won 11 of its first 13 matches for the first time since 2002 when it went 11-2-0. Stanford hasn't been better than its current 11-1-1 start since it started 2001 12-1-0.
CONFERENCE START » Stanford's 4-0-1 start to league play is its best as a member of the Pac-12, which started men's soccer in 2000. The Cardinal began its final season of MPSF play in 1999 with a 4-0-1 mark.