STANFORD, Calif. -- Another week, another season-extending brace for the Stanford men's soccer team.
A game after freshman Amir Bashti's two-goal performance propelled the Cardinal past Santa Clara, junior Jordan Morris' two-score haul against visiting Ohio State lifted Stanford over the Buckeyes 3-1 in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday evening at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
The goals, both of which came in the second half after a scoreless first 45 minutes, were Morris' ninth and 10th of the season and sent his squad into the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.
"It was a great game of soccer, two very exciting teams," Stanford head coach Jeremy Gunn said. "I thought we were the better team on the ball. A couple of tremendous goals. When you look at the three goals we scored tonight – wonderful attacking movement and finishes."
The first half was a back-and-forth battle, though Stanford controlled most of the possession and outshot the Buckeyes 7-4, including two attempts from Ty Thompson just outside the box. On both occasions, sophomore Corey Baird sent in a corner and the ball was deflected out to Thompson, whose shots missed wide left and wide right, respectively.
Highlights from Stanford's 3-1 win against Ohio State.
The Cardinal's best chance, however, came when Morris narrowly missed a right-footed shot to the outside netting after a high-arching through ball from Thompson. There were several more opportunities around the 30th minute, including a ball from Baird that found the head of Tomas Hilliard-Arce but sailed high, and a give-and-go between Drew Skundrich and Foster Langsdorf that never materialized.
Both sides, which were meeting for the first time, came out of halftime much more aggressive. Stanford struck first, however, with Morris punching it past Big Ten Goalie of the Year, Chris Froschauer, in the 52nd minute.
A Buckeyes pass across the field was intercepted by Skundrich, who headed the ball to Eric Verso.
Verso sent it up to Morris, who took one dribble before passing it back. The fifth-year senior from Los Angeles then chipped the ball over several Ohio State defenders, finding Morris at the top of the box, who slotted it past a diving Froschauer to break the deadlock.
"This game felt great," said Morris, who'd just returned from a stint with the U.S. Men's National Team before the Santa Clara game. "The goal is all credit to Verso. It was a great ball by him."
But the Big Ten regular season champions answered back less than 10 minutes later, knotting the score at 1-1 on a score from Abdi Mohamed. Buckeye defender Austin Bergstrom corralled the ball near the scorer's bench, a sent a looping shot towards Mohamed, who rose up and headed the ball over a leaping Andrew Epstein. It was Mohamed's third goal of the year, and just the sixth goal Epstein has surrendered at Cagan this season.
"Great cross, great, great header," Gunn said of the Buckeyes' lone goal. "And so then at 1-1, Ohio State is back in it, and they get a lease of energy. But credit to our team; we weathered a 10-minute period where Ohio State were finally landing punches."
The tie game was short-lived, though, as Morris put the Cardinal in front for good in the 77th minute off a beautiful assist from Bashti. Ohio State attempted to clear the ball from its half, but the ball was taken by Slater Meehan, who passed to Skundrich near the sideline.
Skundrich found Bashti at the top of the box, and the freshman used some fancy footwork to keep the ball away from two Buckeye defenders before feeding Morris with a back heel pass. Morris gathered the ball and paused for a moment before bending the ball around his man and the goalie with a strike off the outside of his right foot.
"(Amir) is one of the best players on our team in those tight areas with the ball at his feet," Morris said. "I just took it, and luckily it went in."
Ohio State had several last gasps in the final minutes, but was unable to generate a true scoring chance. Baird added a goal in the 88th minute to put the game out of reach and give Stanford its 23rd home goal of the season.
Stanford will travel to North Carolina to take on top-seeded Wake Forest on Saturday.
Morris & Baird lead Stanford Men's Soccer to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals »
Posted by Stanford Athletics on Sunday, November 29, 2015
A DOZEN DIMES » Eric Verso's assist on Morris' first goal was his 12th of the season, and the 18th of his career. He moves into Stanford's all-time top-10 in the category, tied for 10th with Matt Moses (1998, 2000-01).
ERIC VERSO » Just a great run by Jordan in-behind. I had a couple times where he's making that run and I was looking for him and was really close to getting it to him. But on that one I was finally able to get the correct weight on it. It was a great touch and great finish by him.
BUCKING THE TREND » Sunday was only the second time Ohio State has given up three goals in a game this season, and the first since conceding three to Akron on Sept. 16. Coming into the game, Froschauer boasted a 0.78 goals-against average, and a 1.33 GAA in road contests.
ERIC VERSO II » Coach always talks about being relentless in our attack, and keep getting body punches in. In the first half, we moved the ball really well, they defended well and kept getting those body blows in. In the second half, we just kept it up, and eventually their tight lines started to break and the openings started coming.
NOT SINCE 2002 » With the win against the Buckeyes, the Cardinal advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002, when the program made it all the way to the College Cup final. In addition, Stanford's 16 victories this season are the team's most since the memorable '02 campaign (17). The 2015 squad is now tied with the 1978 squad for the fifth-most wins in a season in school history.
JEREMY GUNN » We really passed and moved the ball well tonight. Because it's playoff soccer, it's frantic, it's hectic, it's tough for the players. Sometimes emotions can get the better of players and teams. And I thought what was really impressive (tonight) is that we kept moving the ball. I thought we looked clean, looked sharp – we looked in control a lot of the time. Coach Bluem's got a fantastic team, they're very tough to play against. And so for us to perform as well as we did on the ball was truly impressive.
UP NEXT » The Cardinal travel to top-ranked Wake Forest this week and will take on the Demon Deacons on Saturday in the NCAA Quarterfinals.