WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Foster Langsdorf buried a header in the 97th minute off a free kick from Corey Baird to push No. 8 seed Stanford to a 2-1 win at top-seeded Wake Forest on Saturday night and send the Cardinal to next weekend's College Cup at Sporting Park in Kansas City.
The win, which kept alive Stanford's dream of claiming its first NCAA championship in men's soccer, moved the Cardinal (17-2-2) into the nation's final four for the first time since 2002 and fourth overall. Stanford will meet No. 4 seed Akron (18-3-2) on Friday, Dec. 11 (TBD) in one College Cup semifinal on ESPNU.
TURNING POINT » Ty Thompson was taken down in the center of the field 35 yards out midway through overtime. Corey Baird stepped over the ball and lifted one to the top of the 18 and onto the head of Langsdorf. With his back to the face of goal, Langsdorf's flick looped up and over Alec Ferrell for the winner.
A photo posted by Stanford Men's Soccer (@stanfordmenssoccer) on Dec 5, 2015 at 7:57pm PST
RESILIENT » Wake Forest (17-3-2) seemed to have dodged a bullet three minutes earlier, when Brandon Vincent was brought down in the box, but sent his penalty kick off the crossbar.
JEREMY GUNN » Obviously you have a chance to close game out in overtime, but we don't make it. Those things happen. The mentality of this team all season long has been 'next play.' When you come on the road against a very tough opponent, you want to take your chances. When you miss, momentum can swing to the home team. But yet again our team showed its amazing mentality and incredible courage. We kept pressing and were rewarded with another great opportunity.
EARLY LEAD » Stanford took an early lead in the 18th minute when its two MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists connected. Corey Baird passed it up the left side to Vincent, whose first-time cross landed squarely on the head of Jordan Morris and was fired into the back of goal.
OVERTIME » Wake Forest forced overtime when Hayden Partain went down in the 70th minute. Ian Harkes was successful from the spot for his first goal of the year.
JEREMY GUNN II » Games will ebb and flow. In the second half I thought Wake Forest had good possession and managed to break through our midfield more than we wanted them to. They get back in it on a penalty and with a great crowd behind them the atmosphere was electric. At those points it really tests your nerve. Once again this group showed how mentally strong they are. No matter what went on in the game, we were always ready to try and win. It's a true testament to the character of this group.
Foster Langsdorf. Photo by Brian Westerholt/Sports on Film.
#JORDANGONNAJORDAN » Morris continued his torrid play of late with his first-half goal. A MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, the junior has a career-high 11 goals in 16 appearances for Stanford in 2015. In his last 12 games with the Cardinal, he has 10 goals, three assists and 23 points.
ALL ASSISTS ALL DAY » Corey Baird assisted on both goals on Saturday night, his 10th and 11th of the season. Baird and Eric Verso (12) have combined for 23 of Stanford's 44 assists this season and the Cardinal is the only team in the country that has two players with at least 10.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN » Stanford has advanced to the program's fourth College Cup and first since 2002. The Cardinal also was among the nation's final four in 1998 and 2001. Stanford's 17 overall wins are tied for fourth in program history (2002). Only three sides have ever won more games (1998 and 2000 – 18; 2001 – 19).
JEREMY GUNN III » We very much have a 'next game up' mentality. When the season is all done and dusted, that's when you reflect. Right now we're still going and have another exciting game to play. That's all we're thinking about right now.
WHAT'S NEXT » Stanford and Akron will meet for the third time on Friday. In the last game between the two, the Zips eliminated the Cardinal in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 29, 2009 (2-0). The other Stanford/Akron match came on Oct. 2, 1994, a 4-3 win for the Zips at the Reebok/Cardinal Classic on The Farm.
JEREMY GUNN IV » We've been following all the other teams as fans and with potential work to do in the future. We'll regroup from today, wake up tomorrow morning and begin getting prepared.