SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Foster Langsdorf and Amir Bashti combined for four second-half goals and No. 11 Stanford started its Pac-12 schedule with a 5-0 win at San Diego State on Thursday night.
The Cardinal (7-2-0, 1-0-0 Pac-12) scored its most goals in conference and won by its largest margin since beating Cal 6-1 on Nov. 9, 2012. Stanford is 6-0-1 following a loss since 2015.
Langsdorf and Bashti each scored a pair of goals in the final 45 to break the match open. In the 61st minute Sam Werner placed a perfect ball at the far post and Langsdorf slammed it home. Five minutes later, Corey Baird slid a through ball to Langsdorf at the center of the box and the Stanford senior filed it to the right corner for his third brace of the season.
Bashti closed out the onslaught with two scores in the final 15 minutes. First he settled from 25 yards out and whipped it into the right netting past SDSU (4-5-0) keeper Adam Allmaras. In the 88th minute the junior dribbled down the right side and knocked his shot off the far post and in.
The Cardinal's first-half goal came courtesy of its senior tandem up top. Langsdorf controlled outside the box and when the defense charged, he calmly slipped a pass through two defenders to a streaking Baird who beat Allmaras 1v1.
Nico Corti was forced into five saves, but only one caused any concern. In the 57th minute Dallin Cutler ripped off a shot from distance that appeared to be on its way into the goal just below the bar, but Stanford's keeper tipped it up and over to maintain the clean sheet. Redshirt sophomore Charlie Furrer came on for the final 9:02 in his first career action.
Langsdorf's two goals pushed his career total to 31 and he became the first Stanford player to score 30 or more since Giancarlo Ferruzzi tallied 32 from 1982-85. Now tied for eighth in school history in goals with Chip Jessup (1968-70), Langsdorf is also eighth in the Cardinal record books with 70 career points, one shy of Corey Woolfolk (1997-2000).
Corey Baird's second-half assist was also the 27th of his career, placing him one away from a tie for fourth at Stanford with Todd Dunivant (1999-2002), Ferruzzi and Jorge Titinger (1980-83).
In 17 seasons of Pac-12 men's soccer, Thursday night was just the second time Stanford had scored five goals in a league game. It was also the Cardinal's largest margin of victory in a shutout since 2002.
The Cardinal road trip continues at UCLA on Sunday night at 5 p.m. Mark Rogondino and Tammy Blackburn have the call on Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Los Angeles.
