STANFORD, Calif. – Drew Skundrich's 11th-minute goal propelled No. 5 Stanford to a 1-0 win over San Francisco on Friday night at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
"I'm happy with the desire of the team – I don't think we played our best soccer tonight, but we managed another shutout and now we're excited to play again on Sunday," said sixth-year head coach Jeremy Gunn, who made several changes to his starting XI for Friday. "We've had a lot of games in a short period of time so we wanted to reward some different players who have been looking really sharp."
Five freshmen, Jack O'Brien, Marc Joshua, Logan Panchot, Charlie Wehan and Arda Bulut, started the game for the Cardinal (5-1-0). Skundrich's second goal of the year was the only tally of the game, with O'Brien and Joshua picking up their first career assists.
After the Dons (1-6-0) cleared a Cardinal chance, Joshua played a second ball in, flicked on by O'Brien at the top of the box. Skundrich ran onto O'Brien's ball, chipping the keeper at the near post and giving Stanford the early lead.
"They young guys helped us get the result tonight because we won the game in the first 25 minutes, and that was when we played our best soccer," added Gunn. "They connected well on the goal and it's exciting for them, and it means a little bit more competition for playing time, which is great."
Nico Corti earned his fourth shutout of the season, making three saves including one at point-blank range in the 72nd minute to preserve the advantage.
Not today. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/hlnqNAY0EH
— Stanford M Soccer (@StanfordMSoccer) September 16, 2017
"Nico did his job again tonight and I thought our back four was very solid defensively, yet again," said Gunn. "We didn't give them many great looks on target, so I think that's another strong defensive performance from us. I do not think we are firing on all cylinders attacking-wise, so we will hopefully improve in that regard on Sunday."
Stanford outshot San Francisco 12-6 while owning an 8-0 advantage on corner kicks. Tomas Hilliard-Arce forged the first chance of the game, climbing highest for Derek Waldeck's free kick in the eighth minute and heading just wide.
Another look...Skundrich's second of the year gives Stanford the early advantage. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/XLKSnR6cEC
— Stanford M Soccer (@StanfordMSoccer) September 16, 2017
After Skundrich's goal, Wehan nearly doubled the lead in the 29th minute, rattling the crossbar at the end of a Stanford counter attack. Foster Langsdorf nearly capitalized on an error by the USF keeper in the 51st minute, closing down to win the ball back and forcing a fine save.
In the 76th minute, Sam Werner made a long into the box but fired just wide into the side netting. Corti continued his assured performance in the second period, coming off his line on several occasions to keep the Dons at bay.
The Cardinal returns to action on Sunday when it hosts Yale at 1 p.m. PT. Live statistics and streaming will be available at GoStanford.com, and players will sign autographs following the match.