SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Despite a number of quality chances and a flurry of late-match pressure, the No. 8 Stanford men's soccer team lost its 2015 season opener at UC Santa Barbara on Friday night, 1-0.
The Cardinal (0-1-0), which also lost its first game last season before reeling off seven straight wins en route to a Pac-12 championship, now heads to No. 18 Louisville (1-0-0) for a Monday night matchup at 4:30 p.m. PT. The Cardinals started their campaign with a 2-1 home victory over William & Mary behind goals from junior Andrew Brody and freshman Tate Schmitt.
Stat Sheet: Stanford outshot UCSB 12-10, forced freshman goalkeeper Justin Vom Steeg into four saves and had a 7-3 edge in corner kicks, but wasn't able to put one into the back of the net.
Turning Point: The Gauchos tallied their goal against the run of play near the end of the first half. Seo-In Kim sprinted down the right flank and had his service into the six-yard box deflected by a Stanford defender. Nick DePuy was in the right place at the right time at the far post and headed the ball past Andrew Epstein for a goal in the 42nd minute.
Quotable: "We started very brightly and for the first 25 minutes were completely in charge. It was really the first time so far we moved the ball fluently since camp opened, but we need to capitalize in that period. UCSB made a good driving run, we didn't make the tackles where they need to be put in and ended up down a goal at half." – Head Coach Jeremy Gunn
Quotable II: "From start to finish I was pleased with major areas of our performance. That same type of performance could have allowed us to come off happy with the result, but we didn't get the crucial goal. Tough contests against excellent teams are going to be that tight. People tend to count wins before games are played and that's quite foolish and ridiculous. Everyone one is going to be a very tough contest and we're looking forward to another great game on Monday. – Head Coach Jeremy Gunn
First Half Chances: Stanford had a number of chances to both grab the lead in the first and tie the match in the second. The Cardinal's best early opportunity came in the 20th minute when Drew Skundrich stole an errant UCSB pass. The sophomore fed Corey Baird in the midfield and jetted into the box. Baird flicked one over the defense and onto the head of Skundrich, who stayed onside, but his attempt was saved by Vom Steeg. In the 35th minute, moments after checking in, Mark Verso's header off another service from Baird went just high over the crossbar.
Second Half Opportunities: In the 49th minute, Stanford appeared to pull level on a header from Tomas Hilliard-Arce, but was whistled for being offside. Amir Bashti received a touch from Jordan Morris in the 61st minute, which was saved by Vom Steeg. UCSB's freshman keeper played the ball quickly and the Cardinal was able to take it away, but Baird's shot on the repossession sailed high. Bashti took a feed in the center of the box from Brian Nana-Sinkam in the 89th minute, but his flick went wide.
Notable: Redshirt freshman Sam Werner and true freshman Amir Bashti both made their debuts for the Cardinal on Friday night. Earlier Friday, Bashti was to the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team roster that will represent the United States at the 2015 Stevan Vilotic-Cele Tournament in Serbia.
Long Time: The Gaucho win, which snapped Stanford's three-match winning streak in the series, was UCSB's first over the Cardinal since November 6, 2004 (1-0). Stanford is now 14-6-2 all-time against UCSB.
Up Next: Stanford travels to No. 18 Louisville for a match on Monday evening at 4:30 p.m. PT. Last season, the Cardinal lost its opener at Creighton before winning 13 of its last 18 games, capturing a Pac-12 title and an NCAA tournament berth.